In 2006, while 111.7 million Indian travellers visited Andhra Pradesh, famed for its temples - especially the Tirumala Tirupati shrine, 1.9 million foreign tourists came to Delhi.

These findings were put out by the ministry of tourism’s annual publication India Tourism Statistics and were based on statistics collected from hotels and other accommodation.

Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan were the top five destinations for domestic tourists in India in 2006. For foreigners, they were Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, the report said.

With 1,200 heritage buildings and 173 protected structures in the city, heritage experts said a festival would help enhance Delhi's rich history as well as provide an opportunity for foreign visitors to acquaint themselves with the Indian Capital's rich culture and history.

Sources said that the plan was still in the very early stages and would require full cooperation from the government and tourism department if they were to be implemented.

Said Misra: ``We are still working out the details for this proposal. A site is yet to be selected for holding a heritage festival. There is no dearth of beautiful monuments in the city that can provide an excellent backdrop to this festival. The idea is yet to be discussed in detail with the CM and other officials concerned.''

According to the proposal, the festivals should be held on an annual basis and last for upto six days at least. Renowned dance performers, skilled artisans, expert craftsmen, etc from different parts of the country will highlight our diversity. The best of cuisine will also be offered to the visitors.

Similar heritage festivals are held in cities of Punjab like Patiala and Amritsar every year. The monuments used as a backdrop for these festivals include Qila Mubarak and Jagatjit palace. INTACH officials said this festival in Punjab has been very well received and proved to be a big success.

Rapid increase in the number of hotels, restaurants and airlines has created a huge demand for workers and experts say that the steep shortage of trained manpower is likely to rise further.

According to official estimates, the annual demand for graduates trained in the hospitality sector is about 2.13 lakh while the number passing out of government-run institutions is merely around 12,000.

The tourism ministry is now keen on encouraging private initiative in educational institutions that are working in the field of hospitality and tourism. "We are in the process of framing guidelines to promote public private partnerships in the sector," tourism secretary S Banerjee said.

The Union Cabinet toady gave its approval for the adoption of the Cruise Shipping Policy of India.

Cruise Shipping would be a path breaking development in India's effort to carve a prominent space in world tourism.

It would showcase India as a major source and destination of world tourism and would spill out growth in diverse other sectors thereby earning precious foreign exchange for the country.

It will also generate enormous employment opportunities. Cruise tourism would promote people to people contact which will enhance India's friendly ties with foreign countries.

'Cruise Shipping' is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing components of the leisure industry worldwide. It is fast emerging as a new marketable commodity/product. Growing at the rate of 12 per cent per annum globally, this sector has witnessed some activity in India in recent times.

"Cruise Ships' are like moving township studded with state of art facilities and variety of recreational activities. The idea is fast catching up, as journey ion board cruise liners is not only pleasurable, but also comparatively free from sea travel health hazards.

The Tourism Ministry had launched its ambitious rural tourism project last year in a bid to bring the benefits of a tourist destination to far-flung and under developed areas of the country. The idea was to showcase India's arts and crafts in its natural setting and promote sustainable tourism.

Traditional accommodation and food were to be the major attractions while ensuring clean sanitation facilities and convenient communication linkages with urban centres.

Accordingly, the ministry had spent Rs 50 lakh in each site for setting up the necessary physical infrastructure while another Rs 20 lakh was used for training and sensitisation of local population.

Employment generation and infrastructure development were necessary byproducts of this project.

On offer is the skilled diversity of art, craft, cultural and natural heritage.

Enabling visitor interactions with the local communitys way of life at rural sites across India.

Experts associated with this initiative say that special attention has been given to the community's understanding of visitor needs. "There is overarching focus on sustainable practices, hygiene and sanitation, and signage, interpretation and local guides to tactfully unveil local history," says Mayura Balasubramanian, UNDP Project Support Officer, Endogenous Tourism.

She adds that packaged programmes will provide insights to rural art and craft imparted by skilled artisans and artistes, together with accommodation created using local material, local style and local skill or in home-stays providing local cuisine. For entertainment purpose, you have the village entertainment groups who disclose history and culture, natural and oral treasures.

Tourists Guides passes It is time for travellers to explore Delhi with owners of guesthouses. But only those tourists get this "warm" privilege who stay in Bed and Breakfast (BNB) establishments initiated by the Tourism Ministry in 2006 end.

These are the hotels-cum-homes run by landlords initiated to offset the soaring tourist influx. Guests not only get a comfortable place to stay, they also get to see the "real India" when they stay with local families in their homes and eat home-cooked food.

A slice of Indian culture

 A night out with landlord, lunch at Paranthe Wali Gali and movie at the PVR are the friendly (but not mandatory) services these tourists enjoy to take home the sliceof widely-known-Indian-hospitality "It's a home away from home. At the economical rate, I have got personalised services which are non-existent in hotels," says John Bell, a Canadian guest in South Extension.

Personalised services

Apart from normal facilities provided in a hotel or a guesthouse, these people also get the peek of Indian way of living. "I don't recall my guests by their room numbers but by their first names. We take them for outings and show them must visit places. After a few days of stay, they become a part of our extended family," says Pankaj. What surprises these tourists is that these services aren't laid down by the ministry's guidelines but they know that landlords will go overboard to please them. "I arrange for their transport whenever they can't find a taxi. They even use my kitchen regularly," says S. Kumar, who is the owner of first BNB establishment in Delhi.

Guests become regular
A long way to go

The number of Chinese tourists who visited India last year is said to be half a million. A senior tourism ministry official said the number of Chinese tourists visiting India is very small at present if overall number of Chinese tourists travelling abroad is taken into account.

According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) estimates, China will have biggest outbound market by 2020 with 100 million Chinese travelling out every year. Presently, this is limited to 12 million outbound travellers a year.

The Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India are a big attraction for Chinese tourists. The tourism ministry plans to promote Buddhist circuits in a big way. It is estimated that if Buddhist tourism circuits are properly developed in the country, the number of tourists visiting India would multiply.

Replying to a volley of questions from members of the ruling party as well as the Opposition, the minister said the government planned to take several other steps to make Delhi a "tourist friendly" city. He said the department was in touch with the police to start the helpline at the earliest.

"We will soon bring a Bill in the Assembly through which action would be taken against touts who harass foreign tourists," Singh said. He said states, where a large number of tourists go, have laws to deal with the touts. "The tourists take a bad impression back home due to the touts. We want to check this," he told media persons on the proposed Bill.

The minister also said Tourist Police are outside prominent tourist places. "We have also set-up information kiosks at 15 prominent places in the city so that foreign tourists do not have to depend on anyone to get information," he said.

A petition filed by the 200strong Agra Tourist Guide Welfare Association before the Delhi High Court on January 1, this year, describes their members' condition as "on the verge of starvation on account of deprivation of the only source of livelihood".

The guides, they alleged, have been left in the lurch with the Department of Tourism delaying the final results of the Tourist Guide Training Examination held almost six months ago. A person must have the mandatory tourist guide licences to operate as per the orders of the Department in 1984. The selection process for issuance of licences include a written test and a screening process.

Taking a "humane note", Justice Gita Mittal has ordered the department to permit temporary licences to 37 members of the Association who had appeared in the 2007 examinations.

"The court order will act as a precedent for the rest of the guides without a licence," said the Association counsel Anjana Gossain. "The government plans to have at least 3,000 licensed guides by 2010, but the actual requirement is 10,000," she added.

Shekhar Saini points to a small juice shack lined with bananas, apples and oranges. He then directs the eyes of his Australian tourists to the flattened cardboard boxes laying on top of the small stand on a platform in the New Delhi railway station. "That's where some of the street kids sleep at night," he says loudly over the drone of a train rumbling into the station. "You have to be clever when you live on the street."

Saini would know. He ran away from Bihar when he was 12, and lived at the station for several years. He ran away because his smoking and gambling had brought shame to his middle-class family. Now 21, Saini works as a tour guide for Salaam Baalak Trust, a non-profit that provides support to street and working children.

The Rs200 two-hour tour goes through Paharganj and the New Delhi railway station, where Saini says more than 200 children, some as young as five, live. While sharing his story, Saini points out how street children eat, sleep and face issues like prostitution, gang-life and drugs.

In the past few years, "reality tours" such as Salaam Balaak Trust's have been popping up in major cities across India.

A Mumbai company runs a tour where sightseers are taken to Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum. Global Exchange, an international human rights organization, arranges reality tours in over 30 countries, including India.

These tours have become popular among travellers, evidenced by listings in popular sightseeing books such as Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. But while these trips are designed to create awareness, some critics say they're merely voyeuristic, intended for weal-thy tourists to gawk at India's poverty and maybe even come away with a pretty picture.

A highlight of the late winter months every year, the Mughal Gardens in full bloom give visitors a chance to see a riot of colourful flowers in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Going beyond just the usual flowers, there are also exotic blooms for those who like something out of the ordinary. There are tulips, lilies, narcissus, hyacinths and daffodils all set to entice the hundreds of people who come calling at the gardens. Only on a "short viewing", tulips may be one of the most popular flowers in the garden, but they will be at their best only till February 18 as they don't last long. And judging by the weather, their stint at the gardens may be even shorter.

The ongoing Auto Expo has brought into focus a serious problem that Delhi has been facing for a while now, a problem that is threatening to grow out of control but one that the government has still not taken any steps to address. The Capital has run out of space for its ever growing number of vehicles but the government's fiscal policy of favouring private vehicles over mass transport vehicles like buses could be pushing the transport infrastructure on the brink of collapse.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shot off a letter to finance minister P Chidambaram, demanding tax measures that would promote more ``sustainable means of transport'' and ensure a better environment. ``We strongly believe that the current fiscal policy and regulatory practices do not adequately take into account the social, health and environmental costs of motorisation,'' said Sunita Narain, director CSE.

According to a World Bank report, in India the total tax burden per vehicle kilometre is 2.6 times more for buses than for cars. For cars, tax needs to be paid just once, at the time of purchase, which works out to roughly Rs 300/year. Buses, meanwhile, pay Rs 13,000 per year, 43 times more than cars. This is when buses are still meeting the maximum travel demand in the city -- about 60% -- while occupying a mere 5% of its total road space. Cars, on the other hand, occupy a whopping 75% of road space while catering to less than 5% of the travel demand.

Qutbuddin Aibak came with his master from Ghur (Afghanistan) and conquered Delhi. Baba Sant Nagpal came from Karnataka and won the hearts of Delhiites.

Aibak was so generous that people called him 'Lakh Baksh'. Baba was so humble his devotees say that he prevented his disciples from glorifying his name in any manner during his lifetime.

If the Qutab Minar attracts about 391akh visitors per year, at least three lakh devotees per day visit Chhattarpur during NaVratras.

This town has a sprawling temple complex spread over 100 acres on both sides of the main road. The construction began in 1974 and was completed in two decades.

"Earlier, it was a rocky wasteland covered with bushes and shrubs, now it's a beautiful temple town," says Ram Charan, a resident of the area. The complex has as many as 12 temples and the main deity is Goddess Durga, known as Adya Katyayini. Devotees come from all over the world.