Chandigarh, Dec 27 (IANS) Chandigarh got more foreign but fewer domestic tourists in 2009.
Until Nov 30, 33,615 foreign tourists visited the city against 28,658 in the corresponding period last year, Vinod Kalia, deputy director of Chandigarh Tourism, said Sunday.

“October witnessed the maximum inflow with 4,774 foreigners coming in. We had apprehensions that swine flu scare and global meltdown could mar the inflow of foreign tourists,” he said.

But there was a marginal dip in the number of domestic tourists. Up to Nov 30, their number was 831,580, down from 832,404 in the corresponding period last year.

Chandigarh, designed by legendary French architect Le Corbusier in 1950s, is one of the most well-planned cities of the country.

Clearly, some foreigners have fallen in love with Chandigarh.

Said Barnova Zhanna, a Russian tourist: “It is a wonderful city. It reminds me of the old streets of Paris. There is so much greenery and wide roads. I would love to come here again and again.”