Still at 62

India has moved up three places on the list of the world's attractive destinations, but is still at a low of 62nd position in the global ranking, which is topped by Switzerland, according to a report released by the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

Switzerland is followed by Austria, Germany, France and Canada in the top five of the annual 'Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report' for 2009, which features a total of 133 countries.

India has moved up from its 65th position last year, but is still below its neighbour China, which has moved up to 43rd place from 52nd in 2008.

"India is ranked 11th in the (Asia-Pacific) region and 62nd overall, up three places since last year. As with China, India is well assessed for its natural resources (ranked 14th) and cultural resources (24th), with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country," WEF said.

FIVE MILLION TOURISTS ON OUR LAND LAST YEAR!

Around five million foreign tourists had visited India in 2007 which was a big jump from the 3.92 million tourists during the previous year, Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni said on Tuesday,28th May.
Around 400 million domestic tourists had also travelled across different parts of the country during 2007, she said.
She was speaking after declaring open the Rs 35 crore ‘Zest Big Beach-Puducherry’ a project of the Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Limited (MHRIL) at Manapet coastal village near here,Punducherry.
.....................................SOURCE:ZEENEWS.COM