UP religious tourism gets Rs 85K cr boost: Ayodhya, Varanasi top gainers

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched about 500 private-sector projects with an investment outlay of more than Rs 85,000 crore for religious and spiritual spots to position the state as a global tourism hub.

The announcement is part of the Rs 10 trillion investment outlay on more than 14,000 projects launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19 at the groundbreaking ceremony in Lucknow.

These projects – planned across leading religious tourism hotspots, including Ayodhya and Varanasi – pertain to hotels, resorts, guest houses, infrastructure development etc.

Out of the total investment of Rs 85,000 crore, Rs 40,000 crore, or 47 percent of the estimated investment, will be injected in the top three religious tourism hubs namely Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura-Vrindavan.

“These projects will bolster the tourism potential and collectively generate over 250,000 fresh job opportunities across the entire spectrum of projects,” a senior UP government official said.

Religious places in UP attract a large number of pilgrims and tourists annually. However, the state was unable to leverage the vast untapped tourism potential due to the lack of adequate infrastructure and hospitality supply chain.

The Yogi Adityanath government is now looking to address the issue with the help of private sector investment.

Moreover, the state formed seven pilgrimage development councils (Teerth Vikas Parishads) to promote religious tourism. It plans to set up more such entities in the future. 

The religious tourism sector in UP has been renewed after the consecration of the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. This boosted the average daily tourist footfall in the town to more than 100,000.

The government has estimated Ayodhya to generate Rs 55,000 crore annually in tourism revenue alone during initial years.

“It is estimated that on an average, a tourist would spend Rs 2,000 in Ayodhya. This will generate tourism revenue of at least Rs 55,000 crore annually,” UP tourism and culture minister Jaiveer Singh had said earlier.
 

The commissioning of an international airport in Ayodhya and several hospitality chains setting up shops is acting as a catalyst for growing tourism in the state.
 

In 2022, the number of tourists visiting UP stood at nearly 320 million, which was a massive jump of 190 percent over 2021.