After witnessing decline in tourists’ arrival in the past two successive years, there is a silver lining for the City Beautiful as the latest tourism data suggests highest number of tourists’ arrival registered ever in Chandigarh.
The data with the UT Tourism Department suggested that the city has seen highest tourists’ arrival in the year 2013 as compared to the previous years. About 9.3 lakh domestic tourists and nearly 40,000 foreign tourists visited the city in the year 2013. In the previous year 2012, the city had registered 9.2 lakh domestic tourists and 34,130 foreign tourists.
The response of the foreign tourists to the City Beautiful was boosting in 2013. As per the data, the months of April, September, October, November and December attracted large number of domestic as well as foreign tourists in the city. As per the statistics, the 2013 witnessed a slight change in the protracted trend of tourists’ arrival.
The first three months of 2013 witnessed a total of 9,529 foreign tourists while 8,656 foreign tourists thronged the city in the same period in 2012. The month of April in 2013 hosted 4,284 foreign tourists. The last three months of the year, including October, November and December had seen 8,438 foreign tourist in 2012 while the number is more than 12,000 in the year 2013. An increase was also witnessed in the domestic tourists’ arrival in 2013 from the previous years. About 9.2 domestic tourists had visited Chandigarh in 2012 while in 2013, the number was about 9.3 lakh. The huge number of 80460 domestic tourists in April, 82718 in June, 79884 in October and 79243 in November visited the city in 2013.
The statistics has been compiled by the UT Tourism Department, where the foreign tourist arrivals of over 60 hotels, guests houses and other lodging facilities of Chandigarh has been considered where these tourists have stayed overnight. “A number of initiatives have been launched by the UT Administration recently to give a boost to tourism sector here. The tourists’ visits have increased last year as compared to the previous years,” said AK Malhotra, general manager (Tourism), Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation limited (CITCO) while talking to The Pioneer.
He said, “The statistics of both foreign and domestic tourists have increased during last year in Chandigarh.” Showcasing a perfect example of green city and a city with great architect, Chandigarh is a notable creation of French Architect le Corbusier. Any talk about Chandigarh’s beauty is incomplete without mentioning
Rock Garden — an epitome of imagination and famous Zakir Hussain Rose garden, which is the largest of its kind in Asia and adds more charm to the city’s beauty. Chandigarh, which nestles in a picturesque setting in the foothills of Shivalik hills, is also internationally well known for its unique architecture and urban planning. The architectural masterpieces in Capitol Complex attract a large number of foreign tourists here every year.
Notably, the city plays a pivotal role in promotion of transit tourism in this region as it is located on the tourism circuit comprising Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu and Manali. The city is a gateway to the blessed land of Punjab, historical battlefields of Haryana, breathtaking hills of Himachal Pradesh and picturesque valleys of Jammu & Kashmir.