Foreign tourists throng Kerala

Kochi, Sep 23 (UNI) There has been a 34 per cent increase in the arrival of foreign tourists to Kerala in the first half of this year, State Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said today.

Addressing a press conference here to announce the holding of the Kerala Tourism Mart from September 28 to 30, the minister said there was also a seven per cent increase in the arrival of domestic tourists during this period.

More than 300,000 foreign and six million domestic tourists had visited Kerala last year, he said.

The state had earned more than Rs 7,000 crore from tourism last year, he added.

Kerala had been recognised by the World Tourism Organisation as having the highest rate of growth of overseas arrivals at 13 per cent last year.

There had also been a surge in domestic tourist arrivals. From a share of 2.5 per cent of total domestic tourists in 1990, Kerala now had a 15 per cent share in domestic arrivals, he added.

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