Mysuru Palace footfalls increase; yet to reach pre-Covid levels

Shilpa P. | NT

Mysuru Palace has recorded 28.34 per cent more tourists and 63.33 per cent more foreigners this financial year April 2021-March 2022, despite two Covid-19 waves, compared with the previous financial year (April 2020-March 2021) which saw the first wave of the pandemic.

However, when compared with preCovid period, the number of tourists visiting the Palace was 72.74 per cent less, when compared with April 2019-March 2020. The number of foreigners is 97.05 per cent lower than that period.

Till March 24 Mysuru Palace has recorded 9,89,125 tourists including 1,503 foreigners. Last year, there were 7,08,753 tourists to the Palace including 551 foreigners. In 2019-2020, before Covid there were 36,28,941 tourists including 51,074 foreigners.

The tourist inflow that had dropped in January this year due to Omicron, has picked up now. There were 1,59,783 tourists to the Palace in December 2021, including 180 foreigners, but due to the first wave they had dropped to 73,985 tourists including 166 foreigners in January 2022. But once the cases dropped, the tourists picked up to 94,939 including 325 foreigners in February 2022. Around 1,10,314 tourists, including 393 foreigners, have visited the palace this month till March 24.

Mysuru hotel owners’ association president, C Narayangowda has said that in Mysuru city there are 415 hotels with 10,300 rooms, and with the decline in Covid 19 cases, the occupancy of hotel rooms has touched 90 to 100 per cent during this weekend and 50 to 60 per cent during week days. In January, due to the Omicron scare it had fallen to 10 per cent during weekdays and weekends.

Also tourists from other States have touched 30 per cent including those from mainly Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh.