Karnataka tourist count jumps by 10 crore a year

Bengaluru: The number of travellers to various tourist destinations in Karnataka has increased by a whopping 10 crore in just one year, spurred by a combination of factors, including the state government’s free bus travel scheme for women. In 2023, Karnataka hosted close to 28.45 crore travellers as against 18.27 crore in 2022. This is the highest number of travellers recorded in the last seven years, according to data from the state tourism department. 

Officials attribute this surge to an increase in excitement to travel post-Covid, revenge tourism and the state government’s initiative to provide free travel facilities for women. “Revenge tourism and the government’s initiatives have both helped attract more tourists. Through the department, we have also taken up initiatives to popularise tourist destinations in the state. We are developing water sports facilities in many areas. Ropeways and adventure activities have also added to the attraction,” said Dr Ram Prasath Manohar V, Director, Department of Tourism. 

The government’s Shakti scheme that provides free travel facilities to women, has had a significant impact and temple tourism has increased drastically, pointed out G K Shetty, treasurer of the Karnataka Tourism Society. “The number of tourists, especially to temples, has increased drastically. The number almost doubled post the launch of the scheme. This has added to the domestic traveller count,” he said.  

Shetty added that tour operators were seeing at least a 10% to 15% increase in business as compared to pre-Covid times. 

A Bengaluru-based tour operator said that people are more enthusiastic about travel after the pandemic.

“Now, there are bookings for almost every weekend. People want to take at least a short trip during the weekend. Every long weekend is busy since there is a huge rush,” said M N Sudhir, a Bengaluru-based tour operator. 

While the total number of tourists has increased drastically, the state has not been able to attract more international travellers. Data revealed that only close to 0.14% of the total travellers were international travellers.

“Though Bengaluru is a gateway to South India, we have not been able to attract foreign travellers much. While Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa get a huge number of travellers from foreign countries, the number of those visiting the state is still low,” said S Mahalingaiah, Director of Skyway International Travels and Secretary, Karnataka Tourism Society.

Manohar, however, said that they were now participating in more international events and hoped that the number of foreign travellers would go up in the coming days.

“Our presence in the international market has increased. We are planning to participate in more events overseas and hold regular stakeholder meetings to attract foreign tourists. We are also working on branding Karnataka’s eco-tourism and developing more tourist circuits,” he said.  

Shetty suggested that the department should also focus on developing the coastal corridor since it has a huge potential to attract tourists. 

Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kolar, Belgaum, Mysuru, Mandya, and Bengaluru were among the top districts visited.