400 mn domestic tourists likely in 2005.

(From The Economic Times)

Byline: Raja Awasthi

: There seems to be no stopping the tourism sector boom. Not only are foreign tourist arrivals expected to touch the 4.5 million mark in 2005 but domestic travel is also going to witness a big jump from 368 million travellers in 2004 to 400 million this year.

And guess who is calling the shots? Northern Indian states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal together will register more than 230 million tourists this year. For these states, new initiatives and aggressive marketing have been the main drivers for success.

With the domestic tourism boom, …