Mysuru:  Tourism Department Secretary T.K. Anilkumar directed the officials to discuss about the possibilities of tourists visiting the Mysore Palace and the Zoo with one common ticket.

A meeting was held with the officials of the Palace and Zoo at the Mysore Palace Board premises here yesterday regarding issuing of single ticket to see the Palace and the Zoo, to encourage tourists to buy tickets online and other issues.

Anilkumar asked the officials to see the possibilities of facilitating the tourists to buy one ticket for both the Palace and the Zoo so that it will save the tourists from standing in the queue to buy tickets at both the places. 

Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya said that last year 35 lakh tourists had visited the Palace and out of that only 3,968 had purchased the tickets online. Since the ticket for students has been fixed at Rs.10 and for children at Rs. 30, not many are booking tickets online. 

As there are many ticket counters, the tourists are easily purchasing the tickets. If they purchase ticket online then it becomes difficult to cancel and hence not many are booking tickets, he added.

Reacting to this, Anilkumar said that the issue that needs to be discussed is about what steps should be taken to see that people purchase tickets online. Besides, as more people visit the Palace, Guides must also be appointed accordingly, he directed.

Later, Anilkumar, KSTDC Managing Director Kumar Pushkar and others went around in a buggy to see the ticket counters and appreciated the efforts of the Palace Board.

Zoo Executive Director Ajit Kulkarni, BookMyShow’s Venkatesh and others were present.