The rise in the number of rape and molestation cases against women tourists in India, has forced the government to review the safety and security of visitors.

Tourism Secretary Shilabhadra Banerjee has written to the chief secretaries of all states to ensure proper measures are in place to make tourist destinations secure.

In the past year there has been a spate of cases of rape.

Over New Year's Eve, cases of molestation of tourists were reported both in Mumbai and Kochi.

A British journalist has alleged she was raped by the owner of the guesthouse in Udaipur where she was staying last week.

In another incident in Rajasthan, a 28-year-old American tourist was allegedly molested by a priest in front of a temple in the Hindu pilgrim town of Pushkar. The priest was subsequently arrested.

In March last year, the son of an important police official, was found guilty of raping a German researcher in Rajasthan.

Also last year, a Japanese tourist complained that she was drugged and raped by a group of men in Pushkar.

The latest report from the National Crime Records Bureau shows there has been a phenomenal eight-fold increase in rapes in India since 1971.

It has been decided that safety and security of female tourists will be on the agenda of a major tourism meeting on January 24th in New Delhi.