South India - neglected by tourists?

gopalk

Is it just my perception or is it that South India just does not figure in the places to visit for a vast majority of tourists? Of course, Kerala seems to be on the radar screen for some, but still does anyone have a statistic on % of visitors to this part of the country vs the rest of the country?

This is just a hunch, but I think first timers to India would do well to "wet their feet" in one of the southern cities than either Delhi or Mumbai.

Again some inputs from those who have landed in / visited this part would be insightful.

jyotirmoy

I dont think so. Infact many of my friends spent & still spends most of their time in south India. Kerala ranks very high on the most sought after place list, what about Hampi?
Travellers fly in to Delhi or Mumbai because of logistics. Quite a few travelers opt for open-jaw tickets by which they land in Delhi & work their way thru south & west departing finally from Mumbai or vice versa.

Nick-H

It does surprise me how few non-Indian faces I see in Chennai, but Kerala is well established on the tourism map and I believe tourism is it's top employer.

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TimMakins

Nick - you should open a tourist guest house in Chennai - there is very little for backpackers there, really.

Tourists in India generally stick to the north, it is true. Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Rajasthan. Time is limited. Trips are short. But people are starting to explore more, if they have the time. Maybe visit the south on their second or third trip to India. There's a lot to see there - its well worth the effort.

Tim in Ireland

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citybell

gopalk:

You are right.. but it was (and is still?)due to the tourism ministry's careless attitude towards the south. Some years ago, one woud notice ads relating to only TAJ and Delhi. After lot of complaning by the south MPs and the state governments,tourism ministry started ads about the south.

Among the states, Kerala took the lead and statred its campaign with website,online reservations, infrastucture etc which attracted the foreign tourists.Other states soon followed the kerala model, i suppose. Only since few years ago foreigners started visiting the south as tourist destinations

Still not much has been done by the states to woo the foreign tourists, i guess.

ro-anD

I Belive your absolutely right Gopalk!
There has always been a greater exposure on the North outside of India..in food, places to visit et all. Even many 'India' Coffee table books, hardly venture beyond Delhi, rajasthan, varnasi and maybe some parts of UP.
Intially i was bummed about it, but now realise that northeast, and cental India is also passed over. A pity in many ways, but also good as there's much more unspoilt destinations.

The south is less agressive, so I would think it would be a better place for tourists to get a feel for india.

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davyd

I think absolutely opposite. Look at guide books - all big companies have separate South Indian guidebooks. This is because there was specific demand from people who would like to travel only in the South.

Who are more aggressive who are more tender it is useless phrases, my experience up to now shows quite opposite - south indian touts were aggressive, annoying, hoteliers were grumpy, their service comparing to most North Indian hotels is very poor, restaurateurs in the South are very greeedy, offering mediocre overpriced food, local South Indian food was up to now dissapointment, it is better to try it in Delhi or Jaipur, and so on..

However I do not think of south indians as aggressive,annoying or greedy people. Many of them are very nice. But tourist related industry in the South I think in a state of lethargy or complacence - many hoteliers and restaurateurs need to go to North India and learn from them, how to serve visitors and contemplate that half chicken tandoori for 80-100 Rs consists
of 4-5 legs or wings and not the stingy undercooked one leg with 2-3 slices of boiled potato instead of salad.

Shetty

what attracts tourists to a destination is if they are aware of the place....... The biggest ad was placed by shah in the form of taj mahal :-)
post independence the Golden triangle became famous.

Followed by goa.

A couple of years back the kerala govt woke up and did a huge lot of ads....... now the GOI also appears to have woken up ...... if the other govt agencies also wake up and realise the tourism potential then from the 11th position we can easily go to the top 5 destinations in the world.

seriouslly is the govt even thinking.... just look buddism can become the largest attraction of india among all the south east asia / japan ...... mahamastakabisheka is next month and 2 million piligrims are going to visit karnataka yet you hardly see any advertisements for it...

SHIMLA

One must also take into account the international flights - I do not have figures, but am quite sure that New Delhi and Mumbai are the two cities served by the maximum no. of international flights.

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bijapuri

take away Goa and Kerala, and the S is wide open . . .
thank god!!!!

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Sama

When I was in Chennai in September, I absolutely LOVED it that I saw so few westerners. In my month-long yoga intensive, it was all westerners, but only about 4 or 5 other Americans besides me, everyone else was European, Austrailan, etc. In the 30 days I stayed in Mylapore, I saw only ONE other westerner on my daily walks (day and night), another western woman, and she looked shocked to see me, too. Of course, westerners were probably somewhere, but I never saw them.

I don't know about anyone else, but for my first trip to India, I wanted to totally get away from any western influences, and for my second trip, I still feel the same way. Of course, I can not blend in because of my looks (especially my hair!), but I felt very much at home.

In my future trips to India (yes, I am planning more), I want to head north to some Buddhist sites, and I know there will be more westerners at those places. But quite frankly, I don't know how comfortable I will feel to run into more and more westerners on future trips to India....

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InsideTheOutdoors

Maybe Amravati would be visited, where His Holiness would be delivering the Kalachakra Teachings soon...

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Sama

mmmm....I would love that..... however, I can only afford one India trip a year!

I've been told by those who know, that if one makes it to his residence, and if he is there, he receives anyone, regardless.... one does not have to be a "big shot" (like Richard Gere) to get an audience with HH!

Tomi

One good thing about destinations that are not in everyone's radar is the kind of people who visit. I found the tourists in the South a very interesting lot, while in Rajasthan I tried in general to stay away from them. Indian tourists too, not just Westerners. You meet many more unusual travelers in Halebid or Rameswaram than in Agra or Jaipur.

Merchant

Don't forget that the number of foreign, non-NRI/PIO visitors to India in any given year is tiny. A plurality will visit the Taj Mahal and some of the sites in the north, just for convenience. Kerala's marketing ("God's Own Country") has been good, and NYTimes travel people love the houseboats. Beyond that, India doesn't have any other site-specific destinations. So the rest of the tourists just come to "India" and take advantage of whatever strikes their fancy. Is the South neglected? Not really. It's just that after the Taj and the backwaters, everything is neglected.