A delegation from Mysuru Travels Association invited to visit Kannur Airport

Mysuru:  Tourism industry in Mysuru and Kodagu is hoping for a surge in tourist footfall, thanks to Kannur International Airport, a Greenfield Airport in Kerala, which was inaugurated on Dec. 9.

Stakeholders in Mysuru argue that the airport has opened a new gateway for tourism development as Kodagu and Mysuru is closer to Kannur and can eventually improve connectivity between the two States boosting tourism.

The closest airport from Madikeri, Virajpet, Gonikoppal and Kushalnagar is Kannur and tourism stakeholders are hoping that the new airport may prove a big advantage for tourist footfall in the coffee land.

The distance between Madikeri and Kannur Airport is just 90 kms and Virajpet to Kannur Airport is 59 kms. From Gonikoppal, it is 91 kms. Kushalnagar, a commercial town surrounded by tourism hotspots, is around 125 km from Kannur, while the distance between Mysuru and Kannur Airport is 158 kms.

“Certainly, the airport will benefit Kodagu, both in terms of business and tourism. Whether the benefit will be felt immediately has to be seen. But tourists travelling by road from Bengaluru Airport may prefer Kannur Airport to reach Kodagu,” said Kodagu Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants’ Association President Nagendra Prasad.

Kerala’s fourth international airport in Kannur is expected to serve more than 1.5 million passengers annually. With the opening of Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL), Kerala has become the only State in the country to have four international airports with the others at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

The Rs. 1,892 crore-airport, located at Mattanur, over 2,000 acres, is the fastest completed airport in the country according to airport officials. The airport has a runway suitable for operating ‘Code E’ aircraft, like Boeing B-777 and Airbus A-330. It will be extended later for operation of ‘Code F’ aircraft, like Airbus A-380.

According to tour and travel operators in Mysuru, some section of tourists wishing to visit Mysuru and Madikeri may opt to travel via Kannur Airport instead of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport.

Mysuru Travels Association (MTA) has been invited by the authorities for a tour of the Greenfield Airport in Kannur.

Confirming this, MTA President B.S. Prashanth said that the tour and travel operators from Mysuru will soon be visiting Kannur to take a look at the facilities at the airport.

“Mysuru is the transit route to Madikeri and Kodagu may become the new transit zone to Mysuru if tourists prefer flying to Kannur instead of Bengaluru when they plan their vacation to the ‘Land of Coffee’. Tourism is booming in Kodagu with scores of home stays and popular hill resorts to unwind,” he said.

The new airport also opens access to tourists planning to visit Wayanad and Ooty — the other two popular hill stations in South India. The road connectivity from Kannur is said to be good further pushing tourist arrivals to Kodagu. Prashanth said the airport would open a new gateway for tourism development and eventually improve connectivity between the two States, thereby boosting tourism

People flying to Kannur need not have to bother about traffic to reach their destinations — Madikeri or Mysuru — unlike from Bengaluru. Reaching the city from Kempegowda International Airport at Devanahalli near Bengaluru and thereafter to Mysuru under bumper-to-bumper traffic on the busy National Highway is a challenge for tourists, who fly into the State capital.

“If you provide good and hassle-free connectivity, people will definitely patronise,” the stakeholders claim. “The traffic doubles in weekends with the travelling time stretching up to four hours between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Barring the ghat section, the drive is smooth between Mysuru and Kannur,” Prashanth said.

The spurt in home stays and luxury resorts in  Kodagu has made it one of the busiest hill stations in South India. According to statistics, Kodagu has over 35,000 rooms at home stays, hotels and resorts. The number has increased only in recent years. A lot of top-end and luxury resorts have come up across the hill station and mid-size bungalows are getting converted into home stays.

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