The year-end celebrations are attracting a high inflow of tourists to Mysuru. But, it seems like the travel bug has bitten the residents of Mysuru, for the outbound tourism from the region is higher than ever.
While the popular international destination for the season remains Dubai, South East Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, are perennially popular.
An employee of Bharat International Travels (BIT), a city-based tour and travel company, told The Hindu that five group departures for Dubai had been booked this month and all these are of the premium category. Booking for the economy or budget category is also full. The bulk of the bookings are from Mysuru-based clients, she said.
Apart from group tours, individuals and families also contribute to the outbound traffic. This does not include the corporate crowd and frequent fliers. Besides Dubai, there is high traffic to Singapore and Thailand during December-January season with a majority of the departures during late December and early January, she said.
The region is also witness to strong outbound traffic towards domestic destinations fuelled by pilgrimage tourism. Tirupati and Shirdi are among the most popular destinations. This was also confirmed by officials in the Mysuru Division of the South Western Railways.
The Chamarajanagar-Tirupati fast passenger is fully occupied at the station of origin. “More than 80 per cent of the available accommodation, including sleeper berths, is booked in advance,” an official said. With January 1 being the auspicious Vaikunta Ekadashi, the railway officials expect a phenomenal increase in the outbound traffic.
Similarly, bookings have gone up for the Mysuru-Mayiladuthurai Express as Srirangam near Tiruchirappali is another popular pilgrim centre.
Likewise, the weekly train to Shiradi has been booked well in advance and many outbound tourists from Mysuru have booked their journey from Bengaluru to Kopargaon by Karnataka Express.
