Tulip Garden Blooms Face Visitor Drought Amid Sharp Decline

The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, Asia's largest, experienced a drastic decline in visitor numbers, officials announced Friday. Visitor numbers plunged over 50%, a stark contrast to last year's record high of 8.55 lakh.

This year, the garden saw only 3.90 lakh visitors, including 1,222 foreigners and 2.89 lakh domestic tourists. The drop in numbers comes despite optimistic early opening days due to early blooms from rising temperatures.

Originally opened in 2008 to attract tourists in spring, the garden features over 70 tulip varieties and had ramped up its visual appeal. Reasons for this year's decline include overlaps with anticipated tourist seasons and reminiscences of past cancellations like the Pahalgam attack.