Chennai: In a bid to facilitate foreign tourists to exchange Rs. 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) has come out with an innovative idea opening foreign exchange counters across the State.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of problems faced by travellers with regard to the exchange of the notes and withdrawal of money in various banks.

Accordingly TTDC authorities communicated to the regional director of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

“Due to the demonetisation foreign tourists are suffering a lot even for small things,” a senior TTDC official.

After communicating the RBI, authorities swiftly acted and arranged for the special counters of ICICI Bank at Chennai, Puducherry, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Vellore, Kodaikanal and Tiruvannamalai districts for the benefit of tourists.

“As regards to Kanyakumari and Mamallapuram, similar arrangements are being made with other banks and will be communicated as soon as they are finalised. All the foreign tourists can avail the facility. If any tourist has some problem, they can register their complaints with the TTDC,” he added.