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NEW DELHI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- West India's
Rajasthan is worrying about being tagged unsafe, which might affect its tourism,
as another foreign tourist filed rape charge there on Wednesday.
According to Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), a Japanese female tourist alleged Wednesday that she was raped
by a guesthouse manager in the Hindu holy town of Pushkar in Rajasthan.
A German tourist was assaulted in Jodhpur last year
and another German, a student, was attacked in Alwar a month ago.
"These kinds of incidents may not have much impact on
tourist arrivals, but it would certainly develop a fear factor," said Kuldeep
Singh, president of the Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators, quoted by IANS.
"Tourists, especially women, would not like to travel
or stay alone and may try to come with their friends and relatives from now
onwards," Singh said.
However, Navendu Goswami of tour firm Rajasthan
Expedition said such cases would certainly affect the tourist inflow.
"I feel the rapes send a wrong signal. Who would like
to travel to a place that is not safe and secure?" he asked.
The Pushkar police had earlier charged an Israeli
couple with public display of affection and a foreign woman with taking a holy
dip nakedly.
The crimes and arrests have rattled Rajasthan, which
has always been a favorite tourism destination among foreign and domestic
travelers.
According to estimates, one out of every three
foreign tourists visiting India puts Rajasthan on his must-see list. About two
million foreigners and 20 million domestic tourists visited the state in 2005.
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