The tumultuous developments on Saturday in Bangalore and Chennai, following a special court’s conviction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, virtually choked the inflow of holidayers from the two cities that drive weekend tourism in the Union Territory.
With the cancellation of inter-State and other bus services and reports of violence across Tamil Nadu, scores of domestic tourists who had scheduled a weekend trip to the city put off their plans. Hotels, including upmarket and budget enterprises, reported a large number of cancellations. In fact, many hotels are expecting more cancellations.
Arun Raghuram, General Manager, Le Pondy Resorts, told The Hindu that there were around 25 cancellations on Sunday and another five cancellations on Monday.
“The tense situation has made many tourists particularly those from Karnataka put off their plans,” he said.
V. Adityan, General Manager, Hotel Green Palace, said that around 5 to 10 per cent of bookings for the upcoming week have been cancelled. Large groups of tourists from Karnataka have cancelled their bookings. “The arrival of tourists will be hit further if the situation does not improve in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Another hotel owner said that several hotels in Puducherry experienced low levels of occupancy whereas on normal weekends, tourists without a reservation not only have to hunt around for a room but shell out higher tariffs too.
Chennai and Bangalore account for a lion’s share of domestic tourists heading down to this city. Together, the two cities feed over 90 per cent of domestic footfalls while Chennai alone contributes 75 per cent of visitors to Puducherry, primarily over weekends or extended holiday periods, annually.
Footfalls thinned out on streets, including Mission Street, in the heart of town that are usually chock-a-block with tourists.
The Sunday Market on MG Road was not its bursting-at-the-seams self and thronging with shopper looking for a good bargain. Trading was low-key as several hawkers from destinations such as Tiruchi, Tindivanam, Chennai, and Salem chose not to risk a trip in a volatile atmosphere. The same fear factor seems to have deterred shoppers from areas in the neighbouring State such as Villupuram, Chidambaram and Tindivanam.
The Promenade Beach, which is the city’s favourite hangout for tourists, over the regular weekend bore a deserted look on Sunday.
Though the State-sponsored tourism carnival took off as scheduled late on Saturday evening, there were few takers for the cultural fare served on Sunday.
Though the air was thick with rumours through Sunday forenoon that the tourism show had been cancelled in anticipation of a poor response, tourism managers went ahead with the schedule on Sunday as several artists had been brought for the event.
