Tamil Nadu tourist numbers rise, but visitor experience falls short | Chennai News
Chennai: Tamil Nadu logged 203.5mn domestic tourists and 7.8lakh foreign visitors up to July this calendar year, tourism minister R Rajendran said on Tuesday. However, industry watchers warn that the numbers hide a deeper problem—crumbling infrastructure, poor facilities, and underwhelming experiences at several destinations.At a review meeting with officials on Wallajah Road on Tuesday, the minister highlighted Tamil Nadu’s diverse attractions—from temples and hill stations to UNESCO-listed monuments and medical tourism—as reasons for its continued popularity. Revenue, too, soared, with TTDC earnings jumping from 49.11 crore in 2020–21 to 243.31 crore in 2023–24.But on the ground, the story is less flattering. Tourists often encounter overcrowded hill towns, patchy sanitation, and a lack of trained guides. In Chennai, once projected as a global hub, TTDC hotels struggle to match private-sector standards despite charging similar rates.“The charges of the TTDC-run hotels, especially in Mahabalipuram, are on a par with private hotels, and the location is good. But maintenance is poor. The quality of food also needs to be improved. It is high time that private players are allowed to operate the facilities on a public-private partnership model. There is a lack of information about available infrastructure and little consistency in govt programmes,” said a retired tourism official.Another industry expert added that in a city like Chennai, projects like hop-on-hop-off, tourist-friendly autorickshaws, and city tours were dropped. “There are only temple tours predominantly. Apart from the old sites—like museums, beaches, temples, and malls—there is nothing new in Chennai. The city’s potential is grossly underutilized,” said K S Manian, a regular tourist.Rajendran asked district tourism officers to come up with plans for better infrastructure, online guide services, and curated experiences such as trekking and mountain stays. “Tamil Nadu will lose its edge if visitor experiences don’t match the state’s arrival figures. Most of the tourists use the city and state as a transit point,” added the industry member.
