Mysuru: With the Cauvery dispute throwing its long shadow over the Mysuru Dasara, the city recorded the lowest tourist turnout in four years for the festival this year.
Although the occupancy of hotel rooms, which had dropped by 75 per cent owing to the Cauvery issue, rose to 90 per cent on the last weekend before the grand finale on Vijayadashmi Day and 100 per cent on Monday and Tuesday, the people who occupied the rooms were mainly officials , artistes, and tourists from other parts of Karnataka, according to the Mysuru Hotel Owners Association president, Narayangowda.
“Tourists from out of the state, who made up 40 to 50 per cent of the arrivals, dropped to merely 20 per cent this year. Among those who came, 30 per cent were from Kerala and 15 per cent from North India. There were no tourists from Tamil Nadu which was understandable considering the standoff of that state with Karnataka over Cauvery. Foreigners, who constituted 20 per cent of the tourists, dropped by 10 per cent this year,” said Mysuru Travel Agents Association president, Jayakumar.
Also, 35 per cent of those who enjoyed the “Palace on wheels” tour package were actually local residents. Worryingly, the arrival of tourists to the city has been steadily falling over the past four years, going by the visitors log books at the zoo and the Mysuru Palace.
The heli joy ride on Chipsons and Pawan Hans Helicopters with a seating capacity of six each, received huge response. The copters made at least 80 trips a day giving as many as 5, 760 people an aerial view of Mysuru since October 1.
