‘Revenge tourism’ makes its presence felt in Karnataka

District administrations, tourism sector bat for ‘regulated tourism’

As lockdowns were lifted in different parts of the country, visuals of people holidaying with a vengeance lead to many things: anxiety in lawmakers and the medical fraternity, relief for the battered tourism sector, and the coinage of a new term — ‘revenge tourism’. Sure enough, popular destinations in Karnataka have not been left behind from the trend. The tourism circuit is witnessing huge footfalls in the State’s most famous travel hubs. In fact, most stakeholders agree that the response post the second wave lockdown is far higher than what was seen after the first wave restrictions were lifted. M. Ravi, vice-president of Karnataka Tourism Forum, said tourist accommodations in popular destinations in the State, especially resorts, were booked to capacity till the long weekend of August. “Many properties are sold out. Sakleshpur, Chikmagalur and Kodagu are seeing good turnouts. This certainly fits the term revenge tourism,” he said.