Ooty attracts 8% more tourists than last year

UDHAGAMANDALAM: The hill retreat of Ooty witnessed an 8% increase in the tourist flow this May, compared to the same period last year.
As per the data available with the horticulture department, the government botanical garden in Ooty recorded 5,54,777 visitors last month, against 5,12,410 in May 2022. It is to be noted that the footfalls to the botanical garden is the benchmark to calculate the inflow of tourists to the hill town.
During the five-day annual flower show, the footfalls to the botanical garden shot up by 27% this year to 1,30,179 from 1,01,936 in the comparable period last year.
“At least 25,000 people visited the garden daily during the flower show,” said an official with the botanical garden.
He said the heavy rain that lashed the hill retreat daily during the period didn’t affect the tourist flow.
In April too, the garden had witnessed a 56% increase in the footfalls to 3,45,752 from 2,21,643 in the comparable period last year.
Garden officials attributed the increase in the tourist flow to the hill town to the scorching heat in the plains in April and May.
Nilgiris district superintendent of police K Prabakar said more than 1,000 police personnel were deployed to tighten security and manage traffic flow in Ooty during the peak tourist season.
More than 2.5 lakh flower plants were in full bloom in the Ooty botanical garden, which is spread across around 50 acres, during the summer season.