Tourism sector gets a boost as more visitors arrive for Dasara

The last leg of the Dasara festivities seems to have cheered up the tourism industry, as more tourists have begun to arrive in the city. Many hotels, especially the budget and some premium hotels, have reported full bookings and their occupancy rate is almost cent per cent until this weekend.

The response was subdued when the low-key festivities had commenced last week, but tourist arrivals appear to be picking up. Thanks to a long holiday season — October 22 (Ayudha Puja) to Valmiki Jayanthi (October 27), the festive season is brightening up and stakeholders of the tourism sector are hoping for a resurgence of the sector this season.

When this correspondent spoke to some hotels here to find out the occupancy, most of them claimed, “The rooms are either full or booked till October 25.”

A representative at Shree Guru Residency said rooms are not available until the festive season is over as the hotel is fully booked. The reply from Sandesh - The Prince was the same. Similar responses came from the delegates of other city hotels on Dasara bookings.

The tradition has been that tourist inflow continues even after the festivities. If the same trend continues, the month-end and early next month might witness a surge in tourist arrivals, according to the stakeholders.

A leading tour operator told

The Hindu that some tourists had cancelled bookings during the beginning of the season after coming to know about the cancellation of some Dasara events.

But, Dasara is one season which gets maximum tourists from far and wide. Mysuru had built the reputation which can sustain despite the scaling down of the festivities. The rush of bookings for the finale is indeed a big boost for the sector.