Kodagu beats Munnar to the top tourist spot
The hilly Kodagu district of Karnataka, with its coffee plantations and pleasant weather, has emerged as the new tourist hotspot in 2012-13.
Mysore, Nov. 26: Until recently, Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala trumped Kodagu as a tourist hotspot, but the hilly district of Karnataka with its coffee plantations and pleasant weather has emerged as the new favourite in 2012-13.
From January to November this year, Kodagu received as many as 10,73,961 tourists and Munnar only 3,53,545, although it has more to offer tourists in terms of infrastructure, going by the data of the tourism departments of the two states.
A recent survey by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation, New Delhi, too placed Kodagu in numero uno position among hill stations of the country, says Mr Phaneesh, assistant director of Department of Tourism, Kodagu.
With its many homestays and natural beauty drawing more people to the ‘Orange County’ of late, the department of tourism is now waking up to its potential and building more facilities here for visitors.
“We are also in the process of regularising the unauthorised homestays that have come up all over the district,” Mr Phaneesh adds, clearly upbeat at the new emerging trend which he is sure will bring good business to the district.
While Kodagu saw a large number of tourists even in the monsoon, Munnar received 40 percent less tourists owing to bad weather, according to Mr Soman, assistant wildlife warden of Eravikulam-Rajamala Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Tourism in the hill station has been badly hit due to the heavy monsoon. The average tourist inflow per day has dropped from 6,000 to 3,000 this year,” he says.