After a challenging period for the tourism and hospitality sector in the Nilgiris due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 witnessed the resurgence of the industry that provides the most livelihoods to local residents, as tourist visitors to the district are believed to have doubled when compared to 2020.
The Tourism Department uses a few parameters to judge the number of visitors to the district, with the number of visitors to the Nilgiris’ most popular tourist spot – the Government Botanical Garden (GBG), being the most accurate means of calculating tourist inflow. Based on the figures released by the Horticulture Department in the Nilgiris, more than 17 lakh people visited the GBG, which is almost double the number of visitors to the garden in 2019.
Officials from the Tourism and Horticulture Departments said that the main reason for the increase was the shorter lockdown periods in 2021. “When compared with 2020, when the garden, as well as all tourist places, were shut down for five months, the garden was only closed for three months in 2021, in May, June and July,” said an official from the Horticulture Department.
Following the reopening of the district to tourists in August, the number of visitors steadily increased, with around 2.5 lakh people visiting the garden in November and December.
Sivasubramaniam Samraj, Joint Director of Horticulture, Nilgiris district, said that tourists were being reassured that it was safe to travel to the Nilgiris due to strict enforcement of COVID-19 protocols. “In gardens and parks maintained by the Horticulture Department, as well as in other tourist spots, people not wearing masks are not allowed to enter, while strict enforcement of personal distancing is also maintained,” he said.
N. Chandrashekar, honorary secretary of the Nilgiri Hotel and Restaurant Association (NHRA), said that hotels and businesses have done well, especially during the last three months of 2021. “The number of tourist visitors has definitely increased, when compared with 2020. Since the New Year, visitor numbers have dropped again, but we expect another increase in visitors during the Pongal holidays.”
Though 2021 witnessed more visitors to the district than in 2020, tourism has still not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, said officials. In 2019, the number of visitors to the Nilgiris was estimated to be around 30 lakh visitors.
