One state, many worlds, and a missed opportunity 

Lack of sustained marketing and promotion, adequate infrastructure, besides administrative shortcomings are among the reasons pointed out for tourism in Karnataka not taking off the way it has in other popular States

Run an internet search to find out which are the most popular tourist destinations in India, and chances are unlikely you will find Karnataka on the list. Talk to someone abroad about where they have or would like to travel in India and you will likely hear the usual names: Agra, Goa, Rajasthan, Kerala and the likes.

Despite its vastness and overwhelming diversity — offering everything from beaches to backwaters and world heritage sites to jungle safaris — Karnataka, with its eye-catching ‘One State, Many Worlds’ tagline, has long been pegged as an underexplored tourist destination. Stakeholders point out that despite being conspicuously located between two tourist favourites — Kerala and Goa — few bother making a stopover in Karnataka, especially foreign travellers. 

After being hit hard by the pandemic, the tourism industry here, like in other parts, saw a resurrection thanks to what is now known to be called ‘revenge tourism.’ But is this sudden urge to break free from the monotony of the pandemic life enough to catapult the tourism industry in the state? Or is this a passing phase that will see a return to normal levels without much being done in terms of boosting the tourism potential of a state that promises to offer so much?

Stakeholders point out a variety of reasons for Karnataka missing from the tourist map. “One particular officer is not given a long tenure in the tourism department. S/he has to be given a free hand for three to five years. But they are transferred by the time they learn anything about it,” said M. Ravi, founder member of the Karnataka Tourism Forum (KTF) and Karnataka Tourism Society.

Others also pointed out that earlier, there was no concept of consulting stakeholders, but that has changed now with some associations coming up.

Going by the India Tourism Statistics 2021  of the Ministry of Tourism, which provides the percentage shares and ranks of various States/UTs in domestic and foreign tourist visits during 2020, the top five States in domestic tourist visits in 2020 were Tamil Nadu (140.65 million), Uttar Pradesh (86.12 million), Karnataka (77.45 million), Andhra Pradesh (70.83 million), and Telangana (40.00 million) with their respective shares being 23%, 14.1%, 12.7%, 11.6% and 6.6%. These five States, says the report, accounted for about 68% of the total domestic tourist visits in the country. 

On the other hand, with respect to foreign tourist visits in 2020, the top five States/UTs were Maharashtra (1.26 million), Tamil Nadu (1.23 million), Uttar Pradesh (0.89 million), Delhi (0.68 million) and West Bengal (0.46 million), with their respective shares being 17.6%, 17.1%, 12.4%, 9.5% and 6.5%. They accounted for about 63.1% of the total foreign tourist visits to the States/UTs in the country.