Tamil Nadu tops list of domestic tourists for third consecutive year

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has topped the states in domestic tourism for the third consecutive year. It remains the country's top destination for domestic tourists for the third consecutive year, with over 344 million tourists from the country visiting the State in 2016.

TN is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 229 million, according to data released by the Union Tourism ministry on March 2, 2017.

Domestic tourists in Tamil Nadu increased by 3% in 2016, as compared to the previous year. Overall, 1,653 million domestic tourists visited different states besides Union Territories against 1,432 million in 2015, registering an increase of 15.5 %. The contribution of the top 10 states and UTs was 84.2% in 2016 against 83.62% in 2015.

Tamil Nadu's top healthcare system attracts a large number of people, as also its famous temples.

Pilgirims tend to end their tour with Rameswaram after visiting Varanasi, says V K T Balan, chairman of Madura Travels.  People visit temples in a number of places on the way to Rameswaram as well, adds Balan.

The temples in Tamil Nadu are lively places with poojas being conducted throughout the day including abhishekam. People can have archana or abhishekam performed in their names or in the names of their relatives, which is a big attraction for devotees from the north.

Temples are generally found to be clean, while the good law and order situation is also a plus factor for the State, say tourist operators.

Madhya Pradesh is in third place, above Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. West Bengal is ahead of Telangana in eighth place, followed by Gujarat and Rajasthan.