Himachal plans international airport to catch upper-crust foreigners

Shimla: In a bid to cash in on the popularity of Himachal Pradesh among foreign tourists, the state government is planning an international airport to bring the state on the tourism map of high-end foreign visitors, like Sheikhs from the Middle East.
The hill state has witnessed a substantial rise in footfall of foreign tourists in last five years. If 2.07 lakh visitors from abroad came to Himachal Pradesh in 2005, the number went up to 4.85 lakh in 2011. But the absence of an international airport is keeping high-end foreign tourists away. With an eye on tapping into this segment, the government has identified three sites at Kandaghat in Solan district and Nadaun in Hamirpur district. The tourism and civil aviation department has already submitted weather data to the Airports Authority of India on these as it will be a crucial factor in selecting the site.
14/09/12 Anand Bodh/Times of India

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Categories: airports Sep 2012, New Sep 2012