Karwar: The tourism sector in Uttara Kannada has revived after a gap of nearly three years. This is evident from the fact that a record 1.03 crore tourists visited the district in 2022.

Prior to 2020, the district used to annually host nearly 50-55 lakh tourists. However, the number came down to less than half in the last two years due to Covid pandemic. But after Covid began coming under control in 2022, the district witnessed an influx of tourists in large numbers.

Almost all the tourist places located on the 160 metre long seashore and those having waterfalls, temples, forts and other nature’s wonders attracted visitors throughout the year except for the three months of peak rainy season.

Favourite destination

As per the Tourism Department, this is for the first time that Uttara Kannada has seen so many tourists.

As per their department figures, 1,03,02,382 tourists visited some 40 major tourist places in the district in 2022. Among the 40 places, Gokarna and Murdeshwar have seen the maximum number of tourists followed by Dandeli. These destinations welcomed not just domestic tourists but national and international tourists as well.

As per the department officials, the year-end saw most tourists coming in and the numbers exceeded their expectations. Almost 80% of the total tourists visited destinations in the coastal area. This apart, around one lakh people visited Marikamba Temple in Sirsi, Yana, Satodi/Magod/Vibhuti waterfalls, Mirjan fort in Kumta and other places.

“The district saw a good number of tourists in 2022 as the conditions were favourable for hosting tourists,” said Tourism Department Deputy Director Jayant.

Demand for water sports

“Tourism activities lacked luster for the last three years due to the fear of Covid. Only a limited number of tourists visited the district. Most people visited Murdeshwar this time and this increased the demand for water adventure sports,” said Ganesh Harikantra, owner of Netrani Adventures in Murdeshwar.