Jog falls in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district. The KSTDC said Jog Falls, in particular, has seen near-full occupancy even on weekdays since the monsoon began. | Photo Credit: VAIDYA more-in The bountiful monsoon has worked its magic on the tourism sector, with the lure of cascading waterfalls and rain-soaked hills attracting visitors in droves this year. The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) said Jog Falls, in particular, has seen near-full occupancy even on weekdays since the monsoon began. “Earlier, June and July were considered off-season. Nowadays, there is a change in the trend. People want to travel during the monsoon. All our properties in the Malnad belt are sold out on weekends,” said Kumar Pushkar, Managing Director, KSTDC. Its property opposite Jog Falls has been seeing an average 95% occupancy since the onset of the monsoon. Mr. Puskhar added that even on weekdays, occupancy ranges from 90% to 100% due to the unavailability of rooms on weekends. “There has been an increase of around 7% in occupancy compared to previous years,” said Mr. Pushkar, adding that one of the reasons was also that the KSTDC does not have many competitors at the location. Madikeri also popular The other destination that has seen a huge demand is the KSTDC property in Madikeri, Kodagu. Bhagamandala, on the other hand, has seen a drop in occupancy due to excessive rain and the resultant lack of access, officials added. Properties at KRS and Srirangapatna are also doing much better than in previous years. Though the other monsoon destinations were seeing a ‘lukewarm’ response on weekdays, overall, the tourism development corporation’s properties reported 88% occupancy in June, and 65% occupancy in July (so far), officials said. “Visitors are coming mainly from Bengaluru. The Malnad rainfall is a different, pleasant experience that they want to see and enjoy. Many are driving down in the rain. We are also offering monsoon bus packages to Jog Falls, Gaganachukki Falls and Bharachukki Falls on weekends. These will be offered until Dasara,” said Mr. Pushkar. Sanjar Imam, president, Karnataka Tourism Forum also said tourism has been higher this monsoon. “We had almost no summer this time. This period also coincides with the holidays of a lot of international schools. Destinations within driving zones — say around four to six hours from a city — such as Chikkamagaluru, Bandipur and Kodagu district are doing well. Those who are travelling to a circuit, such as Gokarna and Murudeshwar, are also visiting Jog Falls,” he said. Though there was an approximate 25% increase in monsoon tourism this year, including year-on-year growth, he said marketing of monsoon destinations in Karnataka is still ‘wanting’ compared to Goa and Kerala.

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