The number of visitors to the Nilgiris dropped by nearly 10 % in 2018, primarily due to factors that affected parts of Kerala and Karnataka. A majority of the tourists to the hill station are from these States.
Officials from the Horticulture Department said that while close to 31 lakh people had visited the Government Botanical Garden in 2017-2018, the numbers fell to 28.69 lakh visitors between 2018 and 2019. The Tourism Department uses the number of visitors to the garden to arrive at an approximate number of visitors to the whole of the Nilgiris every year.
By comparing with the number of visitors to the district from previous years, the Tourism Department and the Horticultural Department found that there was a dip in tourist numbers during the floods in Kerala and the weeks that followed. There was a further drop in the numbers in the run-up to the elections in Karnataka, according to officials.
They said that the factors that were “beyond anyone’s control” contributed to the dip in the number of visitors.
The number of visitors picked up during the fag end of the year, with huge crowds being reported during winter, especially Christmas time.
Horticulture Department officials said many improvements were carried out throughout last year at the botanical garden and other parks and gardens to attract more visitors. Among some of the big improvements was the renovation of the glass house in the botanical garden at ₹2 crore, officials said.
