April 1, 2013 - 17:27 AMT
Tourists shunning India amid upsurge in sex crimes – survey

Foreign tourists are shunning India in the wake of the New Dehli bus rape and murder followed by two attacks on women visitors, Belfast Telegraph said.

A survey said the attacks have altered how tourists view India and led to a sharp fall in their numbers, especially of women travellers.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry said that in the first three months of the year the number of foreigners travelling to India dropped by 25%. The number of women tourists has dropped by 35%.

The gang rape of the 23-year-old university student on a bus in the heart of the Indian capital in December shocked a country often inured to such sexual violence.

The survey questioned 1,200 tour operators from across India.