Increase in tourist flow but no demands for Hotels: Mysuru!

One of the major tourist attractions of Mysuru is it’s palace. Due to Covid-19 cases being reported in large numbers across the state, the footfall to this iconic spot had come down drastically. However in September and October, the number of tourists has gone up drastically, raising hopes for a revival of tourism.

According to the data, in the month of June, 2,012 tourists had visited the palace which came down to 725 in July. In August the number reached 10,537. However, in the month of September, as many as 30,425 tourists, including 32 foreigners, visited the palace. In October, till Monday, the total number of visitors touched 26,867.

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According to the tour operators, even though the number is encouraging, compared to the period before the Covid pandemic, it is still very less. C Narayana Gowda, president, Mysuru Hotel Owners Association, said that the hotel business which came down to 10% of its earlier turnover in July-August, is now recovering slowly. “The bookings reached around 25% in the city limits. However, in extensions, there is no demand for hotels,” he said.

“Tourists who are arriving now in the city are locals. They prefer their relatives’ houses and don’t use hotel rooms. So, this slow revival is not helping us much,” he said. Jayakumar C A, honorary president, Mysuru Travels Association, said that it is the need of the hour to implement a system which is a win-win for both the industry and the government, to contain the spread of Covid-19. “Allowing the tourists to come in batches and online reservation system are a few of the options to ensure social distancing and implementation of all the Covid-19 SOPs,” he said. “I am optimistic that by summer, the situation will come back to normal,” he said.

News Courtesy: ET