Waterfalls in Karnataka beckon tourists in monsoon
Jog Falls
Unlike the monsoon seasons earlier, this year the tourism sector of Karnataka is experiencing a boom, instead of shortfall in the number of tourists. Incessant rains these days have revived the rivers and waterfalls, which lure a number of tourists during this off season.
“Earlier, June and July were considered off-season. Now there is a change in the trend. People like to travel during monsoon. Our properties, especially opposite Jog Falls have seen 90-95 percent booking during this time, which is unlikely,” said Kumar Pushkar, Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC).
Other than Jog Falls, Madikeri in Kodagu also has high demand for KSTDC properties, during this monsoon. Accommodations in Srirangapatana and KRS are also doing much better than the previous year.
While most of the other tourism destinations are receiving meek responses, the overall performance of the KSTDC properties reported 88 and 65 per cent in June and July respectively, which is better than that of the previous years.
Ganganchukki Falls
“Most of the visitors are coming from Bengaluru. Many people like to drive on rain. We are also providing monsoon bus packages to Jog Falls, Ganganchukki Falls and Bharachukki Falls on weekends,” said Pushkar.
“Though there has been around 25 percent increase in tourists during this monsoon season, marketing of monsoon destinations of Karnataka have much to do, when compared to Kerala and Goa”, said Sanjar Imam, President, Karnataka Tourism Forum.