COVID had dealt a near fatal blow to Udaipur’s bread and butter tourist industry, with nearly 39 related businesses facing the heat.

However, as per the statistics provided by the Tourism Department, the City of Lakes has reciprocated with green numbers in August. The month of August 2021 witnessed more than 100,000 domestic tourists, a figure which has not been seen in more than a decade in Udaipur, during August.

While the total tourism for period of January – August is over 4 lakh, just August 2021 accounts for more than 1 lakh tourists. The same phenomenon was visible in February this year, while things were settling down after the first wave and much before the second wave. The figures for domestic tourists in February this year were also the highest in more than a decade. The number of domestic tourists as per the Department of Tourism in Udaipur was more than 75 thousand.

With the receding monsoons giving some respite to the City of Lakes over the last week, the tourist numbers are expected to jump up exponentially in the coming months, which is the peak tourist season for Udaipur. However, this will be accompanied with the threat of the third wave of COVID, as social distancing norms are shelved and people will be more careless with their safety. It is up to the tourism department, the locals, tourist spot employees, shop keepers, hoteliers and restaurateurs to ensure that the casual behavior of their temporary visitors does not result in permanent damage.

“On weekends, popular destinations bordering other states see packed hotel rooms. We are trying to make things as feasible as possible for tourists with options like “workcation” and “staycation” with basic  infra and internet connectivity. Additionally, we are also connecting with the intangible culture, heritage activities and promoting rural and experiential tourism”, Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism of the Govt. of Rajasthan

She added that the large inflow of tourists in the state, especially Udaipur, has made the City of Lakes a preferred monsoon gateway as well as de-stressing point in COVID times.