Wednesday, August 25, 2021
It has been a rough 18 months for the multi-crore tourism industry in Karnataka, with the pandemic affecting the sector harshly. Just when economic revival was on the anvil, the state government has imposed weekend curfew in districts adjoining Kerala and Maharashtra. These districts have some of the most popular tourist destinations in Karnataka, but local administrations have choked businesses with micro-level restrictions.
Officials suggestedrestrictions in eight districts — Kodagu, Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bidar, Chikkamagaluru and Kalaburagi — which resulted in a loss of around 35% revenue for government tourism agencies, while leaving 85% of private operators and tourism-dependent resorts and travel agents out of business.
The industry directly or indirectly employs more than 30 lakh people, and stakeholders criticized the government’s ‘unscientific’ restrictions. They said that while the inflow of foreign tourists and even those from other states has virtually dried up, those within the state – people from Bengaluru especially – are unwilling to travel due to weekend and night curfew.
RadhakrishnaHolla, the president of the Karnataka State Travel Operators Association (KSTOA), said that the impact of restrictions on tour and taxi operators has been quite grim.
“Cab services to destinations like Hampi, Madikeri and Chikkamagaluru generated sizeable revenues, but local restrictions in these districts have hurt us badly,” said Holla.
Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) has also witnessed considerable drop in bookings. “Compared to revenue of Rs. 4 crore in July when there was no weekend curfew, we expect business to drop 35% in August and yield roughly Rs. 2.5 crore in earnings from our properties. We have closed all our packaged tours, barring the one to Tirupathi,” said Vijay Sharma, MD, KSTDC.
Tags: Karnataka Tourism
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