A vision document complete with short, medium and long-term objectives to take tourism in Mysuru to greater heights will be rolled out soon.
This was decided at a stakeholders’ meeting convened in the city on Tuesday to elicit opinions and suggestions from experts. A vision group will be constituted to steer tourism promotion, said Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep, who chaired the meeting and said that hardly 50% of Mysuru’s tourism potential has been tapped.
The city receives 3.2 million to 3.5 million tourists every year, generating 50,000 to 80,000 jobs in the sector which has a turnover of nearly ₹1,200 crore.
One of the key issues was ensuring that tourists stay longer in the city. The consensus was that this calls for the promotion of places beyond Mysuru and the introduction of new activities to attract visitors. Mr. Randeep said that as a step in this direction, the city would soon have 3D-mapping laser show with state-of-the-art technology. He also suggested preparing a tourism calendar so that visitors would have an idea of what would be in store every month.
Given Mysuru’s reputation as a yoga capital, it was also decided to schedule the calender of events leading up to International Yoga Day (June 21) a couple of months in advance. The stakeholders said admissions to nearly 250 yoga schools in the city have increased by 20-25% consequent to the announcement of Yoga Day but more needs to be done by way of holding seminars, conferences and events to attract yoga enthusiasts.
Other suggestions included holding regular weekend cultural programmes at key heritage places, promoting Mysuru as a destin ation for all seasons rather than just Dasara, increased tapping of the digital platform to p ro mote events, introduction of cultural activities around Mysuru palace in the evening, and adventure sports.
