Summer is synonymous with the holiday season, which is why the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) decided to test the waters to entice domestic tourists into taking a short trip on its luxury train, the Golden Chariot.
Yet, not a single booking was made for either of the two trips offered during the first two weekends of April. The response to the proposed summer run for the train has been so discouraging that the KSTDC has decided to end the experiment if the trip during the third weekend too goes abegging.
The corporation launched the two-night weekend tours this month for the first time. The usual running time of the train is between October and March.
The KSTDC decided to call off one of the two long-duration trips — the Southern Splendour that used to cover Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Kerala — citing Southern Railways’ difficulty in accommodating the train at stations. The other trip, the Pride of South, which covers Bengaluru, Kabini, Mysuru, Hassan, Hampi, Badami, and Goa, is the only one operational at present. However, this trip spans over a week.
The summer specials, departing on Friday night and returning on Monday morning, and priced at ₹30,000 a person for the trip, were introduced to offer the luxury train experience to domestic tourists at a cost lower than the other trip. Promising curated sight-seeing at the best spots in Mysuru and Hampi, the new packages cover stay on board the train, all meals, including some at star-hotels and resorts, and entrance fees at the sites. However, it does not appear to have had any appeal on tourists.
“We had no bookings for the trip scheduled for April 7 and April 14. We will wait for the response to the April 21 trip. If that gets the same response, we ill cancel the trip from May,” said KSTDC managing director Kumar Pushkar.
More ‘Pride of South’ tours
With the cancellation of the Southern Splendour tour, the Golden Chariot will now replace the all-south circuit with its Karnataka circuit — the Pride of South. “The Southern Splendour is now replaced by the same number of Pride of South tours. We usually make 10 trips in six months. The same will remain, but all the trips will be in the Karnataka–Goa circuit,” Mr. Pushkar said.
