The drought in the state has had a telling effect on the number of visitors to the heritage town.
The number had seen a rising trend from the financial year 2014–15 to 2017–18. But the visitor numbers showed a decreasing trend in the year 2018-19. The fall has been more apparent when it comes to foreign tourists.
Tourists from other countries numbered 35,000 to 50,000 in the last few years. But the number stood at 17,949 in 2018-19.
The number of domestic travellers was 6,31,991 last year. It came down to 5,21,817 this time.
One reason cited is that all taluks in the district have been facing drought in the last four years. The water bodies have dried up completely. The temperatures are also the highest in the last few years.
Officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) agree with the observation. Somla Naik, assistant survey engineer of the Hampi circle of the ASI, said, “There was drought in most districts of the state. This led to a dip in the number of school trips and those visiting from distant places.”
“Foreign tourists do a lot of homework before they embark on any trip, including to Hampi. They gather information on the weather of the place too. The sizzling temperatures here may have discouraged many of them,” Naik said.
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