With tech and resilience, state tourism attempts to rise again amid

Mysuru: Travellers are returning to the iconic Mysore Palace and devotees are flocking back to the revered Chamundeshwari temple atop a hill in Karanataka, as the state government is endeavouring to rebuild the tourism sector, hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, by leveraging digital technology and with a spirit of resilience.

At the 18th century Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatna, the crowd is sparse, but many visitors can be seen scanning a QR-code put up on a kiosk at the entrance to pay for an instant ticket, while a couple of posters mounted on the wall says, 'Maintain Social Distancing' and 'Wear Mask'.

Srirangapatna in Mandya district is located about 18 km from the heritage city of Mysore. The town is also home to the very ancient Ranganathaswamy temple, ruins of centuries old Srirangapatna fort, and an enclosed space that marks the place where Tipu's body was found after his death in 1799.

The centrepiece of all the tourist attractions is the summer palace or 'Daria Daulat Bagh', which reopened to visitors last month after restrictions were eased in the wake of reduced cases of COVID-19 in the state. At Mysuru's celebrated Lalitha Mahal Palace, a heritage hotel under the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), the opulent Banquet Hall that could transport people to another era, guests have the option to order food by accessing a digital menu available with just a quick scan of a QR-code printed on a board kept on tables.

Karnataka, which is celebrating its statehood day on November 1, is home to two stunning UNESCO World Heritage Sites -- Hampi ruins from the Vijaynagara Empire and the ancient Pattadakal Temple, besides a plethora of other cultural landmarks and breathtaking natural beauties, including the world-famous Jog Falls. But the coronavirus pandemic and the successive lockdowns in the country induced by the spread of the deadly virus had broken the back of India's tourism sector and the confidence of people to feel safe while travelling even after the restrictions were eased.

However, with India recently crossing the milestone of 100-crore Covid vaccine doses administered, the southern state of Karnataka is slowly rebuilding the tourism sector and the confidence of the people by attempting to provide a safe environment for leisure and recreation. Managing heads at leading hotels run by the state tourism corporation in Bengaluru and Mysuru, PTI spoke to, said their staffer have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, for protection of both guests and hotel employees.

"Devotees are thronging the Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi hills again in Mysuru, albeit in reduced number, but slowly the momentum is building. All priests and staff at the temple are fully vaccinated, and regular RT-PCR tests are done on priests as they come in contact with a large number of people daily," said a senior official of KSTDC. Vaccination has surely boosted confidence of tourists and the staff, "the fear element has lessened to a large extent," he said.

Amid this renewed spirit of resilience, the state government last week co-hosted with the Ministry of Tourism, a first-of-its-kind conference of tourism and culture ministers of the southern region in Bengaluru, with Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy as its chief guest. Addressing the conference, held at a heritage hotel, he had asserted that "there can be no bigger confidence booster for revival of tourism than vaccination against COVID-19".

Manjunath, manager of the 100-year-old property of Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, said, during Mysore Dasara, the city had seen a huge influx of tourists, and most hotels were almost fully booked. But now it's again thinned out, he said. "But we feel the sector is slowly getting rebuilt after being tattered during the first and second wave of the pandemic," he told PTI.

Zubair Ahmad, 38, a Mysuru-based government tourist guide echoes Manjunath's views, but feels it will take a long time to go back to pre-Covid tourism scenario. "During the height of the pandemic, many guides I know, suffered so badly that they had to quit the job and made a living doing manual labour or had to sell vegetables to survive.

The situation seems much better now," he said. At the over-a-century-old Mysore Palace, designed by architect Henry Irwin for the Mysore Royal family, last week a large number of tourists had come from Bengaluru as well as far-off Kolkata to admire this architectural jewel. Abha Mukherjee, 60, said, she visited the palace, built by the Wodeyars, for the first time after the pandemic along with her two sons and other relatives.

Wearing a mask, she was seen taking group pictures with family members against the stunning backdrop of the interiors of the palace. "Situation has improved a lot, tourism sector will slowly bounce back if safety is ensured and confidence level boosted," said Mukherjee, a former sportsperson. Shrikant Kyathappa, 31, a Kolar native who works as a software engineer in Bengaluru, also was among the visitors at the palace last Friday, and agreed with Mukherjee, saying, "I feel safer and Karnataka government has trying to get state tourism back on its feet".

Big crowds were witnessed at the 1930s-era Brindavan Gardens last weekend, located about 12 km from Mysuru, as visitors enjoyed the horticultural delight and musical fountain show at the heritage site that comes under Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited. "Karnataka has the spirit of resilience. Our tourism tagline is 'One State, Many Worlds'.

And, with vaccination underway, we are hopeful, we will eventually be able to spring back on our feet while ensuring safety," said Ravi Alva, manager of Hotel Mayura Cauvery, on the scenic premises of the famed gardens, run by KSTDC.