The tourism sector in Mysuru is showing signs of revival with increase in visitors’ footfall after a gap of two years.
The enquiries for hotel accommodation are high while tourists opting for online booking through various web portals learn to their dismay that rooms are sold out.
For the first time since March 2020, all hotels in the central part of the city have 100 per cent occupancy for four days between April 13 and 16 while the demand for hotels on the outskirts show no signs of abating. .C. Narayana Gowda of Hotels Owners’ Association said the occupancy rates in hotels on the city outskirts and beyond the Outer Ring Road is almost 90 per cent.
There are nearly 10,000 rooms in Mysuru which cater to the tourists from various segments ranging from budget travellers to those in the luxury segment. But in view of the series of holidays on account of Ambedkar Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday followed by the weekend, there is a surge in the number of people visiting Mysuru, said Mr. Narayana Gowda.
The revival of the sector also coincides with the number of active cases of COVID-19 continuing to show a declining trend besides increase in vaccination coverage.
While Mysuru receives not less than 3.6 million tourists on a conservative estimate – based on the ticket sales to view the palace – it dropped to 7,08,753 during 2020-21 when the sector was ravaged by the pandemic. However, the numbers crossed the 1 million mark during 2021-22 and 10,26,344 tourists visited the palace that year. According to the palace board, over 63,000 tourists have visited the palace as on April 12 and these numbers are set to go up once the board examinations are over.
It was in March 2020 that the impact of COVID-19 was felt on tourism as the country went into a lockdown and the travel industry came to a grinding halt. The tourism sector in Mysuru was badly affected and resulted in hotels and restaurants shutting down for good while those who barely survived sought bail out packages from the Government.
The sector generates nearly 60,000 to 80,000 direct and indirect jobs and has spanned a slew of ancillary services and is a major economic driver of the region.
