Despite last-minute preparations, visitor numbers increased by 28% during the 2026 summer festival season.

Preparations are underway at the Government Botanical Garden. Image is for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: M. Sathyamoorthy

Despite delays in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections leading to preparations for the annual summer festival in the Nilgiris, the number of visitors to the district’s main tourist attraction — the Government Botanical Gardens (GBG) has increased by 28% in 2026, state horticulture department statistics show.

Although visitor numbers saw a slight drop in April this year compared to 2025, numbers increased substantially in May of this year, recording a total of 4.67 million visitors, compared to 3.62 million visitors for the same month in 2025.

Figures show average daily attendance during the peak summer month of May was more than 15,000 visitors to the garden per day, an increase of more than 3,000 average tourists per day compared to last year.

The total number of visitors to GBG is used as a yardstick to measure tourist inflow to the district as the tourist spot witnesses the highest number of visitors of any tourist location in the Nilgiris. According to officials, the attendance may have decreased slightly in April this year due to the ongoing elections.

Since the election results were declared in May and the new government took over, preparations for the annual exhibitions – Rose Show, Flower Show, Plantation Crops Show and Fruit Show have been delayed, officials said. Despite the fact that no ministers visited the shows this year and the promotion of the summer exhibitions was minimal, the number of visitors showed a positive trend, they added.

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“It should also be remembered that there were heavy rains at the end of the summer festival season last year, which also led to a reduction in the number of tourists. The absence of disruptive rains combined with higher temperatures in the plains may have led to more people visiting the hills for vacation this year,” added an official from the tourism department.

Published – 07 Jun 2026 14:04 IST