Over 19 lakh tourists visited Mysuru Palace in six months

Mysuru: In the first six months of the financial year 2024-25, Mysuru Palace recorded 93,000 more tourists as compared to the other major attractions of the city.

Meanwhile, during the recently concluded Dasara 2024, more tourists visited the zoo.

During the first eight days of the Dasara celebrations between Oct 3 and 10, the palace recorded 1,12,070 tourists, while during the same period, the zoo recorded 1,19,865 tourists. The palace was shut down for tourists on Oct 11 and 12. On Sunday, Oct 13, a day after the world-famous Dasara procession, the zoo recorded 37,746 visitors, while the palace recorded 23,772 tourists.

During Dasara 2023, as many as 1,16,749 tourists visited the palace, while the zoo recorded 1,83,002 tourists. These numbers reflect the drop in the number of tourists who visited Mysuru during the Dasara 2024 celebrations.

Meanwhile, the palace continues to be the big attraction of Mysuru city. In the first half of this financial year between April 1 and Sept 30, the palace recorded 19,29,944 visitors, while the zoo recorded 18,36,163 tourists. Both these tourist spots recorded the highest number of tourists in May.

Meanwhile, experts urged the Mysuru Palace Board to take up the restoration works of the palace on a priority basis following complaints of water leakage during rain. "Last restoration/repair works were taken up at the palace two decades ago by the archaeology department. Since then, no effort was made to take up the required restoration works. Maintenance is key to conserving any heritage building," said Mysuru Heritage Committee member NS Rangaraju.

"The palace is recording a huge revenue from the visitors. It is the major attraction of Mysuru. The Palace Board must reserve a part of its revenue for the renovation and restoration works. It must form an expert committee immediately," he urged.