Relief: People enjoy the rain in Madikeri on Wednesday. The number of tourists in Kodagu district stood at 63,821 in June 2017, as against 79,726 in June 2016. more-in Some places are best viewed during the monsoon when waterfalls are gushing at their mightiest best, when raindrops bring out the fresh green tint of leaves, and when a cover of mist lends a magical twist to the scene. But a delayed monsoon in Karnataka meant that a large number of tourists who would otherwise head to the State were giving it a miss. With the monsoon remaining weak in parts of Karnataka over a month-and-a-half into what is known to be the monsoon season, tour operators and travel agents are reporting a detour in the itinerary of tourists. Sandeep Keshav Thamankar, proprietor of Lavender Holidays, said the number of tourists making bookings for popular monsoon destinations in the State such as Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Sakleshpur had reduced to a trickle. “Last year, we got 10 to 15 bookings a week, mainly for Kodagu. This year, it has gone down to one or two a week. Our main clientèle are tourists from north India, who prefer to go to Mysuru, Ooty and Kodaikanal, tourists from Tamil Nadu who prefer to visit Kodagu, and tourists from Karnataka who want to visit Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Sakleshpur. But people are saying there is hardly any water in Abbey Falls, so why not head to Kerala instead,” said Mr. Thamankar. Putting off plans Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings, also said: “As monsoon here has delayed, travellers who want to enjoy the rain are heading to Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu that have witnessed good monsoon rains. Some are even postponing their trips to August.” But now, with the monsoon getting active across the State, there is hope. Jeevani Mishra, Branch Head, SDM Holiday Solutions, said it was only the rain-seekers who were putting off their Karnataka holiday plans. “Those who look for general or religious holidays are still travelling,” she said. Govindaraju T., owner of Bangalore Tours and Travels, also said he had witnessed a 30% dip in customer bookings for Kodagu compared to last year. But he said the lack of rain was not the only reason. “It could be financial too, considering the layoffs happening in the IT industry.”. However, the State’s Tourism Department said it was too early to dismiss the State’s monsoon tourism potential for the year. “It is only a month since the season set in and there is time. The decline, which tour operators are claiming, is also multi-factoral as schools recently reopened,” said a senior official.

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