Two French tourists who were following Google Maps to reach Nepal got lost in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. They were cycling from Delhi to Kathmandu on Friday.
The two cyclists were spotted by some villagers near Churaili Dam in Bareilly at night.
Later, they were taken to Churaili police outpost in the district.
After police discussed the matter with them, they were lodged at the village Pradhan's house for the night and sent on their way next day with route instructions.
According to a report by news agency PTI, Baheri Circle Officer Arun Kumar Singh said that French citizens Brian Jacques Gilbert and Sebastian Francois Gabriel had come to Delhi from France by flight on January 7.
"They had to go to Kathmandu in Nepal via Tanakpur from Pilibhit. Both foreigners were waylaid by Google Maps in the dark. The app showed them a shortcut via Baheri in Bareilly, due to which they got lost and reached Churaili Dam," the CO said.
"When the villagers saw both the foreigners roaming on bicycles on a deserted road at 11 pm Thursday, they could not understand their language. To avoid any incident with the two foreigners, they took both of them to the Churaili police outpost," Singh said.
When Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya came to know about the matter, he spoke to both the French tourists and instructed police to guide them to their destination.
India is the second largest overseas market for the US in terms of tourist arrivals and the healthy growth in Indians visiting America is expected to continue in 2025, Brand USA CEO Fred Dixon had said.
India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world for US tourism and 2.2 million Indians travelled to America in 2024, which is a 24 per cent growth over the previous years. It's almost a 50 per cent growth since 2019, he told PTI.
"In 2024, India has moved to the second largest overseas market. Just behind the UK and just ahead of Germany," said Dixon, who was in Hyderabad for an India sales mission.
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