The inflow of foreign tourists to the state capital for the ongoing Men’s Hockey World Cup has crossed 1,000.

According police statistics, 1,040 foreign nationals have landed in the city between November 21 and December 4. The number is expected to go up during the semi-final and final matches.

The police said that the figure was based on Form C, which hotels, guesthouses and owner of places accommodating foreigners have submitted within 24 hours of the arrival of foreigners.

Travel experts said that the number would be around 3,000 as several foreign nationals are also staying in neighbouring areas of Cuttack, Puri and Dhenkanal due to lack of accommodation facilities in the state capital for the World Cup.

While Chilika, Puri, Konark continue to be the most-preferred tourist destinations for the foreigners, tour operators said that Joranda in Dhenkanal, which houses the samadhi of Mahima Gosain who was the preacher and founder of the Mahima Cult, is also in the tour list of many. Dhauli peace pagoda, Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves and Raghurajpur are other sought after destinations.

“In comparison to previous years, the inflow of foreign tourists has been overwhelming. A number of foreign nationals are also staying in the neighbouring areas and coming here for the matches. This is the benefit of good road connectivity. Most of the foreigners come here are from Europe. They are praising the city for its cleanliness, greenery and traffic management. I think the number of foreigners will cross 10,000 during the knockout stages,” said tour operator and travel industry expert Benjamin Simon.

To attract tourists during the World Cup, the state government had launched bus advertisement campaigns in London, Munich and Sydney. Besides it had also set up kiosks at the India International Travel Mart (IIMT), Bangalore, in July. The state government had anticipated the arrival of around 20,000 foreigners during the World Cup.

Tourism department officials said the introduction of international flights and direct links to other cities had helped increase tourist inflow to the city.

“The state government has also decided to conduct various festivals in the city throughout the tournament to keep the tourists engaged. The city has also been decked up and we are expecting more foreigners,” said an official of the tourism department.

Deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo said they had set up ‘May I Help You’ kiosks to assist tourists during the World Cup.

“Tourists can lodge reports at the kiosks and our men will guide them in lodging formal complaints with concerned police stations. Besides, the kiosks are helping tourists find routes to hotels and other important destinations in the city,” said Sahoo.

Tourists from the United Kingdom in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Ashwinee Pati