Domestic tourist arrivals may go up this festive season if the inquiries and bookings for touring Mysore and Kodagu are any indication.
Surprisingly, there have been bulk bookings from non-traditional markets. Travellers hailing from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have planned their itinerary this Dasara, according to travel and tour operators. Like every Dasara, tourist arrivals from Tamil Nadu and Kerala are expected to be on the higher side.
“Generally, tourists from some parts of south India tour up north. But with the floods recently, tourists were perhaps looking for alternative tourist spots like Mysore. The inquiries and bookings have picked up,” explains B.S. Prashanth, president, Mysore Tour and Travel Operators’ Association. He told The Hindu that tourists were planning combined trips to Mysore and Kodagu. Home-stays in Kodagu were reaching full occupancy, he said. Tourists prefer Mysore and Kodagu packages as they get the best of holiday over there, Mr. Prashanth said. “We have confirmed bookings from foreign tourists, who had booked six months in advance,” he said.
Some tour operators in Mysore were promising to facilitate watching of the Jamboo Savari. “This way, the operators were attracting tourists,” a tour operator told The Hindu . Deputy Director of Tourism Husseni told The Hindu his department had been getting calls from inter-State travellers to know more about the festivities. “Besides explaining the events, we also guide them to visit websites to know more about the events,” he added.
The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will launch tour packages.
KSTDC Managing Director Harsha said tourists booking at the KSTDC’s properties in Mysore, KRS, Madikeri and Srirangapatna can avail themselves of packages. KSRTC Divisional Controller (Urban) Mahesh said the corporation was launching special package tours called ‘Darshini’, with packages like Giri Darshini, Jala Darshini, Deva Darshini, and Nagara Darshini. The tickets are available on the corporation’s website or at the reservation counter in the mofussil bus-stand here, he said.
