New Delhi: Admitting that the Iraq war as well as the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic have affected foreign tourist flow to India, the Tourism Ministry found a positive in the fact that domestic tourism would receive a boost, as fewer Indians would go abroad.

"Definitely, there has been a decline in tourist flow since the war began, although we have not taken stock of it in terms of percentages," Tourism Secretary Rathi Vinay Jha told reporters. There was also a possibility that due to the screening measures introduced by the Health Ministry, tourist traffic from the Middle East and South East Asia would be hit.

"We had registered a growth of 13 per cent from October to March this year, but the war and the epidemic will also mean that fewer Indians will go abroad this summer, giving a boost to the domestic tourist scenario," she said.

The Ministry was also thinking of developing certain destinations like the Andaman and Nicobar islands for eco-tourism for which a Cabinet task force has been set up.

PTI