After a few difficult years for the tourism industry in the Nilgiris due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 has proven to be a huge fillip for the district, with Horticulture and Tourism Department officials recording an almost 20% increase in tourist numbers when compared with last year.
The Tourism Department uses visitor numbers at the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) in Udhagamandalam to roughly estimate tourist inflow as it is the most popular destination in the Nilgiris. According to officials, a total of 1.27 lakh additional tourists visited the Nilgiris during April and May 2023, when compared to the same period last year. Deputy Director of Horticulture (Nilgiris) D. Balashankar said while a total of 7.34 lakh visitors had come to the GBG in 2022, the numbers witnessed a significant increase, with a total of 8.61 lakh visitors, being recorded this year.
Mr. Balashankar said with the continuing economic recovery following the pandemic, more people were visiting the Nilgiris, with the average daily visitor numbers to GBG increasing from around 15,000 visitors to around 20,000 this year. He added that the number of visitors during this year’s flower show itself increased by more than 30,000 visitors.
