Ooty: Frosty winter weather, particularly severe from dusk to dawn, does not seem to have deterred the footfall of tourists. Visitors are flocking to the hills in huge numbers for a winter sojourn which, of course, is keeping the tourism sector busy.
Winter holidays have always proved to be a crowd puller despite the cold weather and this season has not proved an exception. The inflow has been heavy since last Saturday, which saw premier tourism spots like the Govt. Botanical Garden (GBG), Boat House and Doaddabetta peak filled with tourists.
With education institutions on a winter holiday and tourists using the Christmas to New Year time to take their last break in 2013 has been a bonanza for the hospitality industry. Given the slump felt post-Deepavali, ths inflow is good news for the hills that are so dependent on the tourist rupee.
Saying that the inflow has shown a sharp increase, G.K.Umarani, Assistant Director of Horticulture at GBG, said that more than 30,000 tourists visited the garden since last weekend.
Expressing his delight at the spurt in tourism activities, N.Chandrasekar, secretary, Nilgiris hotels and restaurants association, said that winter holidays always accounts for good tourist inflow and that winter tourism has just picked up. “This trend is expected to continue till the Pongal holidays,” he hoped.
Is Ooty still enjoyable in the winter cold? Md Fazil, from Calicut said that winter weather in Ooty looks lovely with a nice day temperature and very cold nights. Though colourful flowers are usually missing in the winter, it is still a really enjoyable time to spend in the hills.
K.Vinay from BengÂaluru said that winter weaÂher in Ooty is very unique anÂd it provides a different chill-out enjoyment as one can experience both the frost and sunshine in a day.
