Hike in palace entry fee for foreigners will backfire on tourism sector, say experts

Stakeholders in the tourism sector want a rollback in the steep hike in entry fee for foreign tourists visiting Mysuru palace.
| Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram

The Mysuru Palace Board’s decision to increase the entry fee for foreigners from ₹100 to ₹1,000 has stirred a hornet’s nest with experts cautioning that the move will backfire on the tourism industry.

While stakeholders in the tourism sector in Mysuru have already questioned the rationale and criticised it, the Karnataka Tourism Society, a large body representing the interest of tourism sector across the State, have reached out to the government and called for its intervention.

S. Mahalingaiah, secretary of the society said that the members have already met senior officials in the Tourism Department and have apprised them of their concerns. “Meanwhile, we will also write to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Tourism Minister H.K. Patil and highlight their apprehensions,” he added.

The steep hike is mindboggling and comes at a time when inbound international tourists to Karnataka is on a decline and the numbers are yet to reach the pre-COVID-level figures, said Mr. Mahalingaiah.

He said the dual pricing policy is discriminatory and discouraged across the world though it exists in many countries and is being seriously opposed.

K.S. Nagapathi, an expert on tourism and who has authored many books on the subject, said studies have proved that dual pricing policy affects the local economy in the long run as foreign tourists will stop visiting such places.

He said there could be long-term consequences of the dual pricing policy and adversely affect the local economy, as it may force foreign tourists to adjust their Budgets and cut back on spending, be it handicrafts or purchase of souvenirs.

While conceding that the inflow of foreign tourists was negligible to Mysuru, Mr. Nagapathi said that the hike was devoid of any rationality.

To justify the hike the palace board can come out with a package with an option for special entry into the palace at 8 a.m. only for foreign tourists so that they get a crowd-free ambience and be provided with breakfast, full guide service and presentation of mementoes and publications, said Mr. Nagapati.

He pointed out that such a dual pricing system was in vogue in Mysuru at many places more than 15 years ago but with sustained effort it was eliminated, and similar effort was now required to bring parity in pricing once again.