The number of tourists visiting Mysuru has increased during the holiday season

A view of the crowd visiting the Mysuru Palace Fool Show on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: MA Sriram

The holiday season spanning from Christmas to New Year has led to an increase in the number of tourists visiting Mysore with the hospitality sector announcing 100 per cent occupancy for the entire period.

The city has around 425 hotels and 10,500 rooms in the luxury sector for tourists who prefer to stay in the budget category. President of Mysuru Hotel Industries Association C. Narayan Gowda says all rooms are booked for December 22, 2024 to January 1, 2025.

Many rooms were booked in advance through online mode and the occupancy rate was 100 percent and included resorts, home stays, service apartments in and around Mysuru, said Mr. Narayan Gowda.

For a city whose main economic driver is tourism, this is a positive development and the week from Christmas to New Year is one of the peak tourism periods of the year. This is evident in the traffic jams and jams on the roads near Durbar, KR Circle, JC Wadiyar Circle, JLB Road, Sayaji Rao Road etc.

After school finals and board exams are over, tourist traffic has increased during the summer holidays in May/June. The rush of tourists is the same between Dashain and Christmas and New Year.

Mysuru has long been an all-weather destination and most of the tourists come from Bangalore, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala as well as other parts of the country.

Known for its rich cultural heritage and the grandeur of its palaces, the city’s tourism is boosted by domestic travelers although the number of international visitors is not encouraging.

While the places of tourist interest within Mysuru – palaces, zoos, Chamundi Hills, St. Philomena’s Church, Jaganmohan Palace – are a major attraction, they also have a major impact on nearby locations.

The historic city of Srirangapatna known for Ranganathaswamy Temple, Darya Daulat, Gumbaz, Nimishambha Temple is another major attraction and is almost always included as part of the Mysuru circuit.

Other places seeing growth are Bandipur which is on the way to both Ooty in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala. While the potential of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Keshava Temple at Somnathpur remains untapped, Kodagu has emerged as an independent holiday destination with its sylvan surroundings, cool climate and coffee plantations.

To promote tourism, the Palace Board and the Tourism Department tend to organize events every year and the Mysuru Palace Flower Show 2024 – which runs till December 31, 2024 – is becoming a major attraction among visitors.

The attraction of the illuminated palace and the chance to see numerous flower models in the pleasant atmosphere at night is a perfect combination for the tourists who visit the place in large numbers, which is a good thing for all the locals. economy and tourism sector.