Agartala, Aug 30 (IANS): Tripura saw a surge in the arrival of foreign tourists in the 2013-14 financial year, registering a record growth of 97 percent over the 2012-13 fiscal, a minister said here Saturday.

"During 2012-13 and 2011-12 financial years, 7,817 and 6,550 foreign tourists (respectively) had visited Tripura. In the last financial year (2013-14), number of foreign tourists visiting Tripura mounted to 15,376," Tripura Tourism Minister Ratan Bhowmik said.

He said: "Increase of arrival of foreign tourists in Tripura by a record 97 percent was due to the state's natural exquisiteness, curbing of decades old terrorism and the people's affection towards the travellers."

The minister said during the current financial year (2014-15), 3,470 foreign tourists had visited the state upto May.

According to Bhowmik, since April last year and up to May this year, 405,379 tourists, including 18,846 foreign travellers, visited Tripura, which has a number of tourist spots, including religious, heritage and ecological sites.

The state government earned Rs.2.24 crore from the tourism sector during the past 14 months.

"The Tripura government has also undertaken ambitious projects and master plan to develop tourism infrastructure and expand the tourist circuits," the minister said, adding that eco-tourism is being developed on a priority basis.