Tourism in the Nilgiris begins recovering following the pandemic lull

Tourism in the Nilgiris begins recovering following the pandemic lull. Horticulture and Tourism Department officials record an almost 20% increase in visitor numbers in 2023 when compared to last year; hotels and restaurants, as well as small businesses, report good patronage during the recently-concluded summer festival season

After a few difficult years for the tourism industry in the Nilgiris due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 has proven to be a huge fillip for the district, with Horticulture and Tourism Department officials recording an almost 20% increase in tourist numbers when compared with last year.

The Tourism Department uses visitor numbers to the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) in Udhagamandalam to roughly estimate tourist inflow as it is the most popular destination in the Nilgiris. According to officials, a total of 1.27 lakh additional tourists visited the Nilgiris during April and May 2023, when compared to the same period last year. Deputy Director of Horticulture (Nilgiris) D. Balashankar said while a total of 7.34 lakh visitors had come to the GBG in 2022, the numbers witnessed a significant increase, with a total of 8.61 lakh visitors, being recorded this year.

Mr. Balashankar said with the continuing economic recovery following the pandemic, more people were visiting the Nilgiris, with the average daily visitor numbers to GBG increasing from around 15,000 visitors to around 20,000 this year. He added that the number of visitors during this year’s flower show itself increased by more than 30,000 visitors.

Hotels and restaurants, as well as small businesses, in the Nilgiris also reporting good patronage during the summer festival season this year. “Many of the businesses that had incurred huge losses during the pandemic are on the road to recovery after witnessing a positive trend in the last couple of years,” said one hotel owner, who also applauded the efforts made by the Nilgiris district administration to publicise the celebration of ‘Ooty 200’, marking 200 years since the first colonial expedition managed to make its way up the Nilgiris slopes.

Huge murals marking the history, the environment and the culture of the Nilgiris had been installed along many of the major thoroughfares in Udhagamandalam town to mark the event, among other efforts to publicise the event, officials stated.