The fall in temperature below zero degree Celsius has become a blessing for those depending on the tourism industry in Munnar. Domestic tourists are flocking to Munnar to enjoy the cool weather.
“More domestic tourists are expected to arrive by the middle of this week if the current trend continues,” said an official of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) at Munnar. The official said they were also expecting a large number of foreign tourists by January. Almost all the hotels and resorts in Munnar have already been booked by the tourists.
Tourists have shown interest in all the packages of the DTPC, including Tea Valley tour and Village Tour. Maximum bookings have been received for these packages in the Christmas season. The Village Tour covers places such as Rajakkad, spice gardens and water falls. “Foreign tourists now opt for Village Tour when they come here,” said the official.
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An official at the forest divisional office on Saturday said there was a huge number of tourists visiting Rajamala, the natural habitat of Nilgiri Tahr.
Long queues were seen in front of the ticket counter at Rajamala in the past three days. Rajamala is one of the main tourist attractions in Munnar.
Not a setbackADVERTISEMENT
In Thekkady, however, foreign tourists were less in number compared to last year.
“The tourist arrival will increase by January and the initial trend cannot be seen as a setback , said Manu Abraham, who runs a resort at the Thekkady town-boat landing station. Tourists from North India flocked to Thekkady during the Deepavali holidays. Even now, long queues of domestic tourists waiting for boat tickets can be seen in Thekkady. Wagamon and Ramakkalmedu were also witnessing rush of tourists. With the beginning of the school holidays, the Christmas-New Year season in Munnar, Thekkady and other tourist destinations is expected to bring fortunes to the stakeholders in the tourism industry.