Gang-rape reports fuel anxiety in tourists visiting India
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This picture taken on Jan 16, 2013, shows an artist working on a banner calling for the death sentence for rapists during the one-month anniversary of the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi. India's tourism has been hampered by a growing sense that India is simply not a safe destination, particularly for women. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Danish tourist Judith Jensen has a long list of don'ts to help her feel safe during her holiday in India.
She won't hail a taxi off the street, she won't stay in an obscure hotel and she won't go out after dark - all decisions made in response to the growing reporting of sexual crime in the country.
"I have read and heard so much about rape in India that now I feel this persistent sense of danger," Ms Jensen, 42, told AFP as she walked through a popular market in downtown Delhi.
The tourism ministry's ubiquitous Incredible India marketing campaign has helped boost the number of foreign visitors over the past decade to around 6.6 million a year - albeit still way behind the likes of China and Malaysia.
