The hospitality sector in Mysuru is witnessing a surge in business in the current holiday season from Christmas to New Year with occupancy rates in excess of 80 per cent in most properties.
The demonetisation exercise and the currency crunch has not dampened the new fizz in the sector given the boom in number of tourists visiting the city since December 23 and most hotels are reporting encouraging business with confirmed bookings till January 2, 2017.
The bulk of the business in tourism and the hospitality sector is fuelled by domestic tourists, who are being enticed by hotels with special programmes for the New Year celebrations and the holiday season which commenced from Christmas continues.
“Most of our members are reporting almost cent per cent occupancy from Christmas to New Year and this augurs well for the tourism and the hospitality sector,” said C. Narayangowda, president, Hotel Owners’ Association.
He told The Hindu that December was particularly good for the hospitality sector as there were a slew of events like the surgeons’ conference that saw more than 4,000 doctors from all over India converging at Mysuru besides other events.
At Sandesh The Prince, a hotel catering to tourists in the luxury segment, occupancy rates were in excess of 80 per cent.
A spokesperson for the hotel said the impact of demonetisation was felt for the first few weeks after the initial announcement on November 8 after which there was normalcy.
But December has witnessed a surge in tourists and made up for the short lull, the spokesperson said.
The fact that January 1, 2017 is a Sunday has given a boost to the weekend tourists visiting the city for the extended New Year celebrations as they will not be in a hurry to rush back to work the next day.
At Guru Residency catering to tourists in the middle and upper middle income group, there is no accommodation till January 2 while the Country Inn and Suite by Carlson, a high-end property on the outskirts of the city has similar trends.
That the investors see a great potential in Mysuru’s tourism sector also stems from investments for four new hotels approved last week and this will add to the nearly 180 existing properties catering to tourists ranging from budget segment to those in the luxury segment.
Investment to the tune of Rs.14.46 crore is expected which will augment the accomodation facility in the city.
