Decline in the number of foreign tourists in Tiruchi worries industry

Arrival of foreign tourists in Tiruchi has not seen any significant improvement in the last few months

Arrival of foreign tourists in Tiruchi has not seen any significant improvement in the last few months.

Tiruchi is one of the popular cities in the State that witnesses the arrival of foreign tourists. Tiruchi-Thanjavur, Pudukottai-Ariyalur-Chidambaram is among the three popular tourism circuits in the State for foreign tourists and November, December, January, February and March are the main seasons for the arrival of foreigners. Hotels and restaurants in Tiruchi and Thanjavur benefit from the arrival of foreign tourists.

According to industry sources, the tourists, upon arrival at Tiruchi International Airport, mostly from Italy, Germany, France, England, Norway, and Sweden, prefer to stay for a night in Tiruchi after visiting Rockfort Temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam and Gangaikondacholapuram. They then proceed to Pudukottai to see the archaeological and heritage sites and then to the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur. After visiting Cuddalore and Chidambaram, the tourists return to Tiruchi before proceeding to Madurai or Chennai.

Tour operators and hotels had received overwhelming response from foreign tourists until the spread of COVID-19 season. Three years have passed since normalcy was restored after the pandemic. There has been marginal increase in the arrival of foreign tourists to Tiruchi. However, it is yet to return to pre-COVID period.

According to the statistics available with the Tourism Department, 75,051 foreigners visited Tiruchi in January 2020. It was 27,151 the next month. The arrival nosedived thereafter. The arrival was in two digits in the remaining months of 2020 and in three digits in the whole of 2021.

Arrivals improved in December 2022 and January 2023. Tiruchi recorded the arrival of 12,492 foreigners in January. It is less than 20% of the arrival in January 2020. It was expected that the arrival scenario would be positive in 2024. But, the impact of the Ukraine war and the tension in West Asia dented the arrival of foreign tourists. However, it is said that there has again been only a marginal increase in arrival of foreigners in December 2024.

“There was a slump in foreign tourist arrival in 2024 due to the impact of Ukraine war. However, we have observed that the flow is better in December. Clear picture will emerge only after the end of January,” said a senior official of the Tourism Department.