more-in Ideally located a few km outside Coonoor Town, with adequate parking and spectacular lawns overlooking an evergreen Shola forest, the Kattery Park in Coonoor has seen a slight increase in number of visitors, but still remains a place of enormous untapped potential for tourism. Over the last two years, the average number of tourists visiting the park on a daily basis has increased substantially, thanks to the setting up of an online presence for the park for promotional purposes. An online profile for Kattery Park was set up by the park management and horticulture department last year. With regular updates on park maintenance as well as photographs being posted, more people are getting alerts on their mobile phones and communications devices through Google Maps about the popularity of the park, said S. Suresh, Farm Manager. “We have also received good ratings and feedback from people visiting the park, while there are plans to set up a Facebook page and a Youtube channel too,” he added. Officials said that revenue and tourist footfall has increased by more than 35 % since 2016. “Moreover, average visitors coming into the park too have increased, with numbers touching 800 people a day during the summer season,” said Mr. Suresh. Though numbers are up, activists have called for the park to be given more prominence during the summer tourist season, to absorb at least some of the tourist crowds that would typically be visiting the Sims Park in Coonoor or the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam, putting a huge strain on the limited infrastructure in both towns. S Manogaran, president of the Coonoor Consumer Protection Association, said that other measures, like setting up of a herbal garden at the park, coupled with measures like staging one of the summer tourist festivals, would help the park gain more visibility.

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