10-day festivities generate revenue of Rs. 200 crore; stakeholders elated
Mysore/Mysuru: The grand Mysuru Dasara celebrations which just concluded has given a major fillip to the tourism and business sectors and has energised them after the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stakeholders are happy that the annual spectacle has boosted footfall and has supported all the sectors associated with tourism and business. The 10-day festival has generated a revenue of over Rs. 200 crore, bringing the festivities back to its glorious days.
While Dasara was missing from the tourist itinerary in 2020 and 2021, owing to pandemic-induced low-key celebrations, this year the grandeur returned, so are tourists. According to Mysuru Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda, this Dasara business was better than 2019. “The tourist rush will continue and all hotel rooms are reserved till this weekend,” he added.
Mysuru Travels Association (MTA) President C.A. Jayakumar told Star of Mysore this morning that the tourist footfall has given a big boost to travel, tourism, hospitality sectors along with other allied businesses. “The footfall is encouraging and enables us to plan better for next Dasara and has increased our confidence manifold after two years of devastation,” he said.
“People want to go out and enjoy after two years of restrictions and this has played a major role in this Dasara. The State Government has raked in revenue in crores without much effort, thanks to the social media-driven publicity. But we must seriously think in the direction of bettering existing facilities for continuous revenue,” he said.
High entry tax
This Dasara turnout was indeed one of the largest in recent years. “On the one hand, we are inviting tourists from across the country and abroad and at the same time, we are imposing exorbitant entry tax for outside State vehicles. A tourist bus from outside Karnataka has to pay an entry tax of Rs. 40,000. How is it fair? We must encourage tourists and not stop them at the gate, dissuading them from coming here,” he said.
The tourism sector is booming without anyone’s intervention because people want to travel and explore. “It is high time we streamlined things like the Government has to constitute the long-pending Dasara Authority. The inter-State toll is a discouraging factor. If the Government reduces it by Rs. 10,000 or even Rs. 15,000, we can have more number of vehicles entering Mysuru and further boost the local economy. This will in turn benefit the State immensely,” he added.
Zoo visitors
In the last 10 days, Mysuru Zoo received more than 1.55 lakh visitors, raking in gate-collection of Rs. 1.53 crore. On the day of Ayudha Puja, 23,350 tourists visited the Zoo and on Vijayadashami Day, 36,420 tourists entered the premises. On these two days, the gate revenue was Rs. 59.08 lakh.
According to a press release from the Zoo Executive Director Ajit M. Kulkarni, the collection made on Vijayadashami was a four-year high and this is the second-highest collection in the past four years after the 2019 collection of Rs. 1.59 crore.
On Vijayadashami, the gate collection was Rs. 35.92 lakh. In 2019, it was nearly Rs. 28.28 lakh. The number of visitors this year was 36,420 while 28,386 people visited in 2019. While 23,350 tourists visited the Zoo for this Ayudha Puja generating a gate collection of Rs. 23.16 lakh, in 2019, 30,273 people visited the Zoo, raking in a revenue of Rs. 29.77 lakh.
Palace visitor data
A huge number of tourists also visited Mysore Palace during Dasara. According to data from Mysore Palace Board, as many as 98,142 tourists visited the Palace from Sept 26 to Oct. 4. The Palace was closed for visitors on Oct. 5. On Oct. 2, the highest number of 21,062 tourists visited the iconic structure.
According to Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya, among the tourists, there were 309 foreigners, 7,335 students, 11,702 children and 78,796 adults. Of the number of visitors from Sept. 26, 67,299 visitors came to see the Palace in the last four days, he added.
Five-year Dasara data of Mysuru Zoo
| Year | Visitors | Gate Revenue |
| 2018 | 1.53 lakh | Rs. 1.05 crore |
| 2019 | 1.65 lakh | Rs. 1.59 crore |
| 2020 | 0.20 lakh | Rs. 19.56 lakh |
| 2021 | 0.75 lakh | Rs. 77.63 lakh |
| 2022 | 1.55 lakh | Rs. 1.53 crore |
| Year | Ayudha Puja | Vijayadashami |
| 2018 | 22,398 visitors, Rs. 17.74 lakh revenue | 32,301 visitors, Rs. 25.40 lakh revenue |
| 2019 | 30,273 visitors, Rs. 29.77 lakh revenue | 28,386 visitors, Rs. 28.28 lakh revenue |
| 2020 | 3,534 visitors, Rs. 03.54 lakh revenue | 7,264 visitors, Rs. 07.33 lakh revenue |
| 2021 | 9,033 visitors, Rs. 9.29 lakh revenue | 27,093 visitors, Rs. 26.67 lakh revenue |
| 2022 | 23,350 visitors, Rs. 23.16 lakh revenue | 36,420 visitors, Rs. 35.92 lakh revenue |
Mysore Palace footfalls
| Date | Number of visitors |
| Sept. 26 | 4,099 |
| Sept. 27 | 5,799 |
| Sept. 28 | 5,798 |
| Sept. 29 | 7,600 |
| Sept. 30 | 7,547 |
| Oct. 1 | 15,242 |
| Oct. 2 | 21,062 |
| Oct. 3 | 18,119 |
| Oct. 4 (after 2 pm) | 12,876 |
| Total | 98,142 |
This post was published on October 7, 2022 6:45 pm