File photo of Chennai airport.

HYDERABAD: In a bid to boost the tourism sector in Tamil Nadu , the state on Wednesday organised a tourism partnership meet in Hyderabad to attract travellers from the state, especially from Telangana .

Thiru Venugopal, deputy director, Tamil Nadu Tourism, said, “Tamil Nadu has been the leading Indian tourist destination, in terms of foreign and domestic arrivals, for a while now. We’re now embarking on a set of focused marketing activities along with stakeholders from the state to consolidate our leadership position and to make an entry into new markets. This initiative will also help shed light on the lesser known places and experiences; thereby making the destination more attractive.”

The state will be conducting its promotional activities in Bengaluru next. He pointed out that tourists from Telangana mainly opt for places of pilgrimage and hill stations.

Tamil Nadu was ranked first in both domestic and foreign tourist arrivals for three years in a row - 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2017, nearly 3,450.61 lakh domestic tourists and 48.60 lakh foreign tourists visited Tamil Nadu.