Of 1.55 lakh visitors to the zoo during Dasara, less than 500 visited with single tickets that were introduced for tourism promotion
Did the last-minute launch of combo tickets for tourists’ convenience make any impact on tourism promotion this Dasara? It doesn’t seem so if the statistics are any indication.
The Grand Dasara gave the much-needed boost to tourism as it is claimed that over five lakh people watched the finale. The two years of muted celebrations triggered ‘revenge tourism’ this year.
Lack of publicity
Stakeholders maintain that lack of publicity on the availability of combo tickets was cited as reason why the initiative could not make a desired impact.
Entry to popular tourist spots with a single ticket was the long-pending demand of the stakeholders. After many years of waiting, the government launched combo tickets keeping in view the Grand Dasara and tourists’ accessibility.
The stakeholders demanded single-ticket entry to tourist destinations as a convenience factor for those who had to wait for the tickets outside tourist sites. During weekends, holidays, and Dasara season, the rush is usually more and the waiting time for tickets goes up. In an attempt to ease entry and avoid waiting time at every destination, the concept was proposed and was eventually launched on a trial basis during the festivities.
Mysuru zoo, Mysuru palace, Sri Chamundeshwari Temple, Brindavan Gardens, and Railway Museum were included in the combo ticket which was priced at ₹500 for adults and ₹250 for children. The tickets were sold from September 20 to October 5. The concept of ‘one ticket to many destinations’ was formally launched on September 17.
Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) was entrusted with the task of managing the single-ticketing system, and the revenue had to be shared among the managements of the tourist attractions. It was announced after the launch that the tickets will be made available at bus-stands, railway stations, Chamundi Hills, KRS, palace, zoo and prominent hotels.
Though the data on number of combo tickets sold during Dasara was not available, entry to the zoo - one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mysuru - through combo tickets was less than 500.
The total number of visitors to the zoo during Dasara was 1.55 lakh. Nearly 85% of tickets were sold at the counters and the waiting period for each tourist for purchasing ticket was less than 3 minutes since 10 counters were operated to ease rush and minimise waiting time, zoo sources said.
About 1.26 lakh adults and 21,000 children bought counter tickets to visit the zoo. However, only 384 adults and 63 children visited zoo with combo tickets. Also, 1,778 adults and 458 visited the zoo buying tickets online, according to the zoo data.
Hotel Owners’ Association President C. Narayana Gowda said the combo tickets should have been launched before Dasara and appropriate publicity should have been made. At least, next year, the combo tickets should be introduced with better planning, he suggested, while appreciating the initiative.
“Not many were aware where the combo tickets were available. The initiative also required planning and publicity since it required the stakeholders’ support and cooperation. Tour and travel operators and the hotel industry were ready to take the responsibility and support the initiative,” said B.S. Prashanth, president, SKAL International, Mysuru.
