Where are holidayers from Mysuru heading to welcome the New Year? If the sources in the tourism sector are to be believed, most are heading to Goa, hill stations like Wayanad, Ooty, and Coorg. People are opting to celebrate quietly with their near and dear ones amidst nature and in isolated tourist destinations.
As hotels in Mysuru are not planning New Year’s eve celebrations with curbs imposed by the government for COVID-19 control, tour operators here are getting a lot of enquiries for bookings in hill stations and beach resorts in Goa. Mysuru Travels Association president B.S. Prashanth said inbound tourism had been hit while outbound travel was doing well especially for the year-end vacation and New Year’s eve.
Post-lockdown, this is a welcome sign as the people are shedding fear and coming out to travel. Though Mysuru is not getting many tourists, a lot of residents are travelling out. The flight to Goa has come as a big advantage, he said.
Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association president C. Narayana Gowda said none of the hotels in Mysuru are planning New Year parties. “The curbs were expected. Moreover, the celebrations used to be organised mostly for the locals even though tourists used to travel to Mysuru to greet the New Year as seen in the past, especially after the fireworks ushered in the New Year at the Mysuru palace.”
He said occupancy continues to be poor but has improved compared to the last few months with nearly 25% of occupancy recorded.
“Until a vaccine comes, we cannot keep hopes as tourists have become watchful and the curbs are bound to make them even more cautious,” he argued.
Last year, the New Year’s eve holiday season had helped revive the tourism industry in Mysuru which was hit by protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Protests in last December had hit the tourism badly but it recovered in the subsequent weeks with hotels here registering full occupancy. The protests had forced many travellers to cancel their bookings.
Seeing the revival, many hotels offered events for New Year holidayers with music, games, unlimited snacks, and food besides other attractions. They also gave discounts in tariff.
The pandemic has put a brake on the celebrations as the authorities are treading a cautious path even though the cases continue to fall. The warning by the health experts of any complacency could be expensive has put the government on the guard and imposed curbs on the revelry.
