Ayodhya Ram Mandir attracted more domestic tourists than Agra in 2024

January 22 marked one year of the pran pratishtha of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.   

The Uttar Pradesh government has said its tourist footfall data for 2024 showed that Ayodhya and Varanasi were bigger tourist destinations in UP than Agra, which over the years attracted the most tourist. 

 

According to one estimate, the religious tourism sector is expected to generate revenue of $59 billion by 2028, creating 140 million temporary and permanent jobs by 2030. 

 

Travel tech unicorn OYO on Wednesday said it is planning to add 500 hotels in religious hubs, including in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj among others.  OYO said it will add over 150 hotels in Ayodhya, 100 in Varanasi and 50 each in Prayagraj, Haridwar, and Puri. It said Ayodhya topped the list of most-searched religious destinations for New Year holidays, “with searches on the OYO app recording an impressive 39 per cent year-on-year growth”.  On Wednesday, UP CM Yogi Adityanath along with his cabinet ministers took a dip in the Triveni Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela to coincide with the first anniversary of the temple’s consecration.In a recent statement, CM said the number of tourists to Ayodhya in 2016 was a mere 283,000, including 1,200 foreign tourists.     The UP CM said religious tourism will help UP attain its objective of becoming a $1 trillion economy.