Tamil Nadu   

Tourist inflow picks up at Udhagamandalam

D. Radhakrishnan

Government Botanical Gardens, Rose Garden and Boat house teeming with visitors

MORE THE MERRIER: Tourists from Kerala entering the Rose Garden in Ooty on Tuesday.

Udhagamandalam: The flow of tourists during the Onam season, which was below normal over the past few days, picked up on Tuesday with a good number of visitors from various parts of Kerala making a bee line to this hill station.

The flow from Karnataka was also fairly good. Consequently, popular tourist spots such as the Government Botanical Gardens , the Rose Garden and the Boat house were teeming with tourists. According to sources in the Horticulture department, the spurt has heralded the second season (Autumn) in this hill station. Those from Kerala thronged the budget hotels. The luxury hotels were looking forward to a steady flow of seasonal visitors till October-end.

A travel agent told The Hindu that many foreign tourists preferred this part of the year to visit the Nilgiris. It was also an ideal time for companies in various parts of India to hold their conferences here.

Stating that till September 10, tourists from Kerala were expected to throng Ooty and its surroundings, Nilgiri Hotels and Restaurants Association Secretary N. Chandrashekar said though the inflow would be of considerable use to the hospitality and travel industry, hoteliers and tour operators were finding it difficult to cope with mounting complaints about the deplorable condition of roads particularly the Mettupalayam-Ooty-Gudalur highway.

Stating that the tourists were questioning the wisdom of collecting toll taxes at places like Burliar when the roads were not being maintained, he feared that visitors might avoid coming here again.

The parking facilities in the town were woefully inadequate, he regretted that tourists were harassed by some law enforcing authorities in various parts of the town.

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