Ooty’s famed second season tourism a damp squib

Tourist’s inflow which dipped post Kerala floods took a further beating following cyclone Gaja. Also, polls in Karnataka and the recent elections took a toll on the tourist flow to Udhagamandalam.

According to T Krishnaraj, president of Nilgiri Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, said, “Tourists inflow has dropped by about ten per cent this season while compared to the previous years. Low turnout of tourists has translated into poor business for hotels and restaurants. Bookings and occupancy in hotels has dropped by almost 30 per cent for the second season.”

The second season, which starts in the middle of September, draws to an end in December. This year, in September, 1.84 lakh tourists visited the Government Botanical Garden (GBG), while 1.92 lakh tourists turned up during October and 2.48 lakh tourists arrived in November, stated an official. Visitors to GBG present a near exact picture of entire tourist visitors to hills as it usually remains a must visit spot in the itinerary of people.

“The tourist arrivals in September, October and November had dropped by over ten per cent than the previous years. Tourist arrivals were good for Ayudha puja holidays and during Deepavali. Yet, the numbers did not match the previous year’s tourist arrivals,” said an official, preferring anonymity.

Tour operators added that even the usual flower shows organised annually during the second season was maintained a low key affair by the government for reasons unknown.

However, an official of the Horticulture Department differed saying that all arrangements were in place with vibrant flower shows for the tourists to enjoy. “Yet the tourist’s inflow dropped by 15 per cent during second season due to natural calamities and other reasons,” he added. “Polls in the north India states had its effect on the tourism industry in Ooty,” said an official attached to the tourism department.

Most of the hotel owners shared a similar view that the flow tourists came down drastically, that it does not look like a second season at all. According to VA Mohammed Jaffar, president of Nilgiri District Hotel Owners Association, said, “Business was dull for the past three months. Only a very few crowd has turned up during the weekends. I had never come across such a poor turnout of tourists in this season, despite being in the hotel industry for the last six decades.”

The other factors behind a dip in the hotel business is due to a ban on plastics, claimed hoteliers. Mohammed added that, “Usually, tourists prefer to buy food parcels from hotels to consume on their convenience at the place of stay. As plastic covers could not be used for packing food, the tourists are switching over to home cooked options, in their place of stay. Even local residents stopped buying food from hotels as they do not carry along vessels.”

There also seems to be a growing trend among tourists to visit newer destinations rather than the usually seen places. According to T Krishnaraj, president of Nilgiri Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, “Tourists and particularly those from north India are looking for new destinations. People have started to explore new places as they get information from booking tickets to finding hotels through internet and tour organisers.”

“Bookings and occupancy in hotels and restaurants have come down by 20 per cent and businesses dropped by an average 30 per cent. To attract tourists, we are planning a series of events including cutlery contest for women and expos in the coming days. Hotels are also giving heavier discounts to lure tourists. We are hoping to receive good turnout of tourists during the extended holidays of Christmas and New Year,” he added.