The stakeholders in the Mysuru tourism industry have suggested measures to encourage tourists to stay longer in Mysuru in lieu making it a one-day thing. Evening cultural shows, shopping festivals, and late-hour food hub etc. could be introduced for extending the night life.
Another key issue that was raised at a stakeholders’ meeting here on Tuesday was revival of Brindavan Gardens, which they said was in a jumbles, with nothing new to offer to the tourists.
Senior Tourism Department officials including Tourism Secretary T K Anil Kumar, KSTDC Managing Director Kumar Pushkar, Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar and district officials attended the meeting. MLA L. Nagendra, and MLC and hotelier Sandesh Nagaraj also expressed their suggestions to the Minister for Tourism and Sericulture S R Mahesh
The Minister promised to submit the proposals to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy during a meeting in Bengaluru on June 25 and would try for the development of tourism in the city.
Earlier, B.S. Prashanth , Mysuru Travels’ Association President furnished a PowerPoint presentation on the short-term and long-term proposals for tourism promotion in Mysuru. His proposals included belligerent marketing of Mysuru tourism in international travel festivals for enhancing the number of foreign visitors; it had been showing a decline due to varied reasons
“Mysuru has a big potential for being promoted as a “wellness hub” and urged for aggressive campaigns through social media for doubling the number of tourists, which is currently around 4 million here”, he added.
Mysuru has become a sort of transit point for Ooty and Coorg with very few opting to stay in the city. Unnecessary harassment of tourist vehicles by the city traffic police in the name of checking should be stopped as it is affecting tourism promotion in neighbouring States, he said.
He also proposed the introduction of circuit buses connecting tourist destinations, theme parks. More public toilets for tourists, better parking facilities and management, monitoring of tourism projects, introduction of hot air balloon adventure, sky diving, Mysuru Wheel in line with of London Eye, ropeway to Chamundi Hills, and night safari at Mysuru zoo same as in Singapore’s Night Safari.
Mr. Nagaraj suggested measures for solve the parking crisis near the Mysuru zoo and ensuring necessary parking of tourist vehicles at the Exhibition grounds. He insisted the Minister to reduce entry tax for tourist vehicles from other States instead of limiting it for Dasara. This will surely help attracting tourists extend their stay in Mysuru. Currently a few of the tourists stay overnight, though Mysuru is one the favourite tourist locations
MLA L Nagendra suggested that decision be taken at the earliest on the renovation of the century-old Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building and restoring the beauty of century-old majestic Town Hall which has become a dumping yard for building materials. He sought a permanent solution to the parking problem in the city’s Central Business District and a master plan for developing Kukkarahalli Lake.
