Hampi most sought after tourist destination

The world famous Hampi, well-known the world over for its architecture and ruins, continues to be the most sought after tourist destination.

Despite the severe summer heat, with the mercury soaring above 43 degree Celsius, during the first quarter of the year, tourists, both domestic and foreign, have been thronging the world heritage site. Tourists are seen moving around heritage site visiting the ancient monuments, including the stone chariot at the Vijaya Vittala temple, considered as the ‘architectural marvel of human genius’, braving the heat.

According to official sources in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) a total of 3.50 lakh tourists, of whom 23,419 were foreign nationals, visited Hampi between April 2015 and March 2016. There has been a consistent increase in tourist inflow since 2010-11.

The official figures are of tourists visiting the ticketed monuments and the number would be even higher if children below 15 years (for whom entry into ticketed monuments is free) visiting Hampi is taken into consideration.

Tourist season commences in September and ends by March every year. From October onwards, the inflow of foreign tourists gradually increases up to March and starts reducing from April onwards.

Hampi, with good inflow of tourists, has also been generating hefty revenue for the Union Government. According to sources, the total revenue for 2015-16 by way of sale of tickets was around Rs. 90.30 lakh, of which Rs. 58.44 lakh was from foreign tourists.