Mysore/Mysuru: The tourism industry in Mysuru is witnessing some buoyancy almost six months after the killer COVID-19 second wave. Hundreds of tourists have arrived in the city since Thursday evening as yesterday’s Ganesh Chaturthi holiday coincided with a long weekend. 

Since Jan. 2021, tourist entry to the city was restricted due to weekend curfew and merciless lockdown, but now, there is a sign of relief. The lifting of weekend curfew from Mysuru last week and this week in Kodagu has boosted travel with many people making short trips of one or two days. 

There has been a steady flow of tourists since Thursday evening and all the hotels, lodges, resorts and service apartments in the city centre have seen 75 to 80 percent occupancy while the accommodations on the city outskirts have seen 60 to 65 percent occupancy. All the bookings, however, are till tomorrow (Sunday) evening. The hotel industry which is dependent on tourists had suffered a huge loss for two years due to the pandemic. 

While the tourism industry stakeholders have been insisting that the hospitality and tourism sector is all about survival and recovery, they are happy that the business has picked up soon after the weekend curfew has been lifted. 

Apart from the industries allied with the tourism sector like the taxi and travel sectors, businesses too have shown growth this weekend with tourists making purchases along with visiting their favourite destinations in Mysuru. 

The footfall at Mysore Palace, Mysuru Zoo, Karanji Lake and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna and Chamundi Hill crossed over 4,500 to 5,000 till 1 pm today. More people are likely to arrive tomorrow. However, they will come for a short trip, instead of staying for one or two days, said hospitality industry representatives. 

Even the Mysuru Zoo saw encouraging footfalls, prompting the Zoo management to hope for more visitors in the coming days. Mysuru Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda said that tourists were waiting for the weekend curfew to be lifted and today the actual impact has been felt with increased bookings of hotels and other accommodations. 

“The hotel industry has suffered a lot without tourists. Now we are seeing customers visiting our hotels and room bookings have also increased in three days. Hope we will see more improvement in the business in coming days”, he added.