Mysore: “The Jumbo Savari procession was just magical. I absolutely loved it. I was particularly fascinated by the caparisoned elephants which formed part of the procession,” These were the words of Elizabeth who had come to Mysore all the way from Paris to watch the Jumbo Savari procession, here on Saturday.
A day after the curtains came down on the 404th Dasara festivities it was evident that foreigners like Elizabeth, were deeply impressed by it. What could be worrying to the organisers is the fact that there has been a slight decline in the number of tourists and a drastic decline in foreign tourists on Vijayadashami day and in the past ten days of festivities as per the statistics available at Mysore Zoo, and Mysore Palace. However the Zoo earned record gate revenue due to the recent hike in its tariff.
There were as many as 69,954 tourists at Mysore Palace including 828 foreign tourists between September 25 and October 4. Mysore Palace saw 93,177 tourists including 1430 in 2013, and 77,182 tourists including 1358 foreigners in Dasara 2012.
The decline in tourists especially from foreign countries is due to adequate publicity, claim members of Travel Agents Association. Prashanth B.S, of Mysore
Travel Agents Association said, “Majority of the people who gathered to witness the procession are from the neighboring taluks and from Kerala, which helps local merchants. The State is spending so much on Dasara. Hence the Planning should be a round the year phenomenon, with a permanent authority. The list of programmes should be ready five to six months in advance, so that tourists, can plan in advance.”
