A record number of tourists visited the century-old Mysuru zoo on Vijayadashami on October 5 and the turnout is the largest in the last four years.
In fact, the footfall on Wednesday exceeded the pre-COVID numbers as the zoo attracted 36,420 visitors, collecting a revenue of ₹35,92,160.
Despite COVID-19 scare, the zoo registered 27,000 visitors on Vijayadashami last year which was significant considering the scene on the day in 2020 when the lowest footfall of 7,264 people was recorded. The pandemic scare had stopped people from visiting tourist places and the drastic drop in footfall had badly hit the zoo’s revenue. The zoo management had to seek donations from the wildlife enthusiasts for the maintenance.
Zoo Executive Director Ajit Kulkarni said the zoo registered 23,350 visitors on the day of Ayudha Puja on October 4. On the day of Ayudha Puja last year, the zoo managed to get only 9,033 visitors and 3,534 visitors in 2020. The revenue earned on Ayudha Puja day this year was ₹23.16 lakh.
The turn-out on Ayudha Puja and Vijayadashami is a big booster dose to tourism, he felt.
In the last ten days of Dasara this year, the zoo earned a revenue of ₹1.53 crore which is again the highest since 2018. Though the revenue earned in 2019 was ₹1.59 crore, the number of visitors in that year was 1.65 lakh whereas the number of visitors this year was 1.55 lakh.
The revenue realised on Vijayadashami day this year was also the highest since last four years.
According to the data sourced from the zoo, the revenue earned in Dasara 2018 was ₹1.05 crore while it was ₹1.59 crore in 2019 and ₹19 lakh in 2020. In 2021, the revenue was ₹77.63 lakh.
“It’s a big year for Mysuru tourism as Dasara gave a big boost for reviving tourism which had been devastated with two back-to-back waves of COVID-19. The crowds seen ahead of the Dsaara finale raised our hopes. Time and again it has been proved that Dasara has been the biggest draw for tourists. A grand Dasara can draw people in large numbers and this was proved conclusively this year,” the stakeholders said.
In August this year, for the first time after a gap of nearly two-and-a-half years, the zoo recorded 24,000 visitors on a single day on August 14. This was the highest footfall recorded post-pandemic, and the exuberant zoo management cited continuous holidays as the reason.
