Mysuru hotel and hospitality sector set to reopen completely with minor restrictions

Published on : Monday, July 5, 2021

The Mysuru hotel and hospitality sector is set to reopen completely except minor restrictions due to the unlocking of Karnataka from today onwards.

However, the stakeholders feel that this is not a new dawn since the sector’s fortunes center on a large extent on the footing provided by the tourism sector which is in an unhappy state. In the pre-pandemic days, Mysuru used to attract almost 3.5 million tourists every year. The tourism sector alone used to generate direct jobs ranging from 80,000 to 1,00,000 in addition to creating supplementary jobs, all of which have been affected by the pandemic.

Although places of tourist interest including temples will also be reopened from Monday, the hospitality sector does not foresee recommencement of normal business for at least another six months.

“Even if Karnataka reopens, there are restrictions for people coming from Kerala where the COVID-19 cases are high. Besides, carrying an RT-PCR negative report has been made mandatory if travelling from a few other States and hence inter-State tourist traffic will remain affected,” said Narayana Gowda, President of the Hotel Owners Association.

Tourism activity in Mysuru was fuelled by domestic travelers from other states with Kerala fetching almost 50% of the traffic. However, in the wake of the uncertainty over hassle-free travel and stringent checking at the borders, tourist flow from Kerala will remain low-key for some more time.