Religious Tourism

Puri, Varanasi, Haridwar top spiritual destinations in 2024: Oyo report

Puri, Varanasi and Haridwar are the most travelled spiritual destinations while Hyderabad is India's top-booked city this year, according to OYO's 'Travelopedia 2024' annual report unveiled on Tuesday. The report delves into travel patterns and trends, with its findings based on the booking data of the travel tech major for the entire year. "In India, religious tourism continued to be a key focus, with Puri, Varanasi, and Haridwar dominating the pilgrimage sector. However, a significant trend emerged with Deoghar, Palani, and Govardhan experiencing substantial growth, indicating a shift towards less explored spiritual destinations..."OYO stated. Following Hyderabad, cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata rounded out the top spots for bookings, with Uttar Pradesh maintaining its position as the most popular state for travel. High volume of bookings were reported from Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka, which continue to be dominant travel contributors. Smaller towns like Patna

Portals of Badrinath Dham to be closed on Nov 17 for winter session

The portals of the Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand will be closed for the winter season at 9.07 pm on November 17, the temple committee said on Saturday. As per tradition, the "mahurat" of the closing date and time was decided on the occasion of Vijayadashami on Saturday after an assessment of the Hindu calendar and the position of the celestial bodies, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay said. More than 11 lakh pilgrims visited Badrinath this year while Kedarnath witnessed a footfall of over 13.5 lakh devotees. As per an earlier announcement, Kedarnath and Yamunotri will be closed on November 3 and Gangotri on November 2. Similarly, the doors of Rudranath will be closed on October 17, Tungnath on November 4 and Madhyamaheshwar on November 20. The temples in Uttarakhand which draw lakhs of devotees each year from across the country and abroad are closed during winter as they remain covered in snow.

Tax on helicopter services for religious travel down at 5%: Uttarakhand FM

Uttarakhand Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal on Monday said the GST Council has decided to cut tax on helicopter services for religious travels to 5 per cent. The 54th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is currently underway. "Helicopter services for religious purposes like Kedarnath, Badrinath has been reduced to 5 per cent from 18 per cent. There was no clarity on this. After this, there will be clarity," Agarwal told reporters. The Council is slated to deliberate on a host of issues, including lowering of taxes on life and health insurance premiums, as well as levy of GST on payment aggregators for small digital transactions up to Rs 2,000, via debit and credit cards. Agarwal further said the Council has referred the issues of levy of 18 per cent GST on payment aggregators (PAs), like BillDesk and CCAvenue, for small digital transactions up to Rs 2,000, via debit and credit cards to the fitment committee. Currently, payment ...

UP to launch electric boats in Ayodhya, Varanasi to boost religious tourism

The Uttar Pradesh government is set to expand electricity-based adventure water activities and boat ride facilities in Ayodhya and Varanasi to boost religious tourism. The government is on the verge of starting the operation of four specialised electric boats in both cities, according to an official statement. "Under the scheme, one air-conditioned electric boat with a 50-seat capacity and two electric boats with 30-seat capacities each will be operated from Nayaghat on the Saryu River in Ayodhya," it said. "In Varanasi, a 50-seater air-conditioned electric boat will soon be available for tourists at Ravidas Ghat on the Ganga River," it added. The state-of-the-art AC boats will have a steel catamaran hull, while the non-air-conditioned ones will feature an FRP catamaran hull, the government said. The ghats will have the facilities for the docking and charging of these boats, which will be managed by the Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation. The boats will initially

'My Tirth India' spiritual startup temporarily shuts down: What went wrong?

The decision comes months after the demise of Sahara India's Subrata Roy, who was the principal shareholder and investor in the firm

Aiming to boost tourism, UP to market 'Buddhist Circuit' in South-East Asia

UP tourism minister Jaiveer Singh directed the officials to promote and market the various Buddhist Circuit destinations of UP at the national and international levels

Rajasthan govt to boost religious tourism by enhancing temple towns, infra

Tourism contributes roughly 12-14% to the state economy and employs over 7.5 million to 8 million, the third largest after agriculture and textiles

More than 1.5 mn foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca ahead of the start of the Hajj later this week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country by Tuesday, the vast majority by air, from across the world. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday. Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims this year to exceed 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj, approaching pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, more than 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage. The pilgrims included 4,200 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who arrived in Mecca earlier this month, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not able to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year, because

Religious tourism is spurring real estate growth in India's pilgrim towns

Record tourist influx and government investments drive property prices up in temple cities

Char Dham Yatra: U'khand govt extends ban on VIP darshan till May 31

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary said that in order to streamline the process of Darshan at the Dhams, state government has started a process of registration for Chardham Yatra

State govts can develop dharmshalas at religious places in MP: CM Yadav

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday invited governments of other states to build dharmshalas (lodging facilities) at prominent religious spots in Madhya Pradesh for the visiting devotees. Yadav chaired a cabinet meeting before leaving for Ayodhya where he, state ministers and their wives are scheduled to offer prayers at the Lord Ram temple later in the day. The chief minister termed the Ayodhya visit a "very important occasion" and said the government will expedite the implementation of various decisions regarding the development of religious spots in MP. "Our government will also make efforts to build a dharmshala (lodging facility) in Ayodhya for pilgrims of Madhya Pradesh. We will also try to provide land to governments of other states for (constructing) dharmshalas at prominent religious places in MP for pilgrims from their states," Yadav said. Since a large number of people from various parts of the country visit the famous temples in Ujjain and Omkareshwar in MP, government

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

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

Religious tourism to create 200,000 jobs in 4-5 years, says NLB Services

Religious tourism is expected to create up to 2 lakh job opportunities in the next 4-5 years, global technology and digital talent solutions provider NLB Services CEO Sachin Alug said. Religious tourism has been gaining momentum in India and is expected to grow annually at over 16 per cent between 2023 and 2030, Alug said. According to him, the segment accounts for 60 per cent of domestic tourism. "In the next 4-5 years, religious tourism is anticipated to create up to two lakh job opportunities. With a projected revenue of USD 60 billion by 2028, religious tourism will open employment avenues for both temporary and permanent workers," Alug told PTI. According to industry reports, the number of overnight journeys for pilgrimages went up post-Covid and there was a 14 per cent rise in donations in 2021-2022, he said. The recent inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya could further boost religious tourism, he said. "The inauguration of Ram Mandir alone is expected to add nearly 25,000

After Ayodhya, SpiceJet plans to connect more tourist, religious places

After Ayodhya, SpiceJet plans to expand its business over the next two years and increase connectivity between various tourist and religious destinations including Lakshadweep, the airline's chief Ajay Singh said. The domestic carrier has also plans to operate seaplanes and is awaiting infrastructure development for water ports, the CMD told PTI in an interaction. "I think this is the time to expand. SpiceJet will do its utmost to expand its business over the next two years. We want to connect many tourist destinations, religious tourism, medical tourism, places like Lakshadweep," Singh said in reply to a question on company's expansion plan. According to Sing, the airline already has the licence to operate seaplanes and plans are in the works to connect several locations through seaplane services. On February 1, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Minister of State V K Singh jointly inaugurated SpiceJet's direct fli

TMS Ep612: Religious tourism, Interim Budget, CAT III-B landing system

What does Ayodhya mean for the future of religious tourism? Will the Interim Budget boost welfare expenditure? Will Ayodhya-related stock rally continue? What's CAT III-B landing system? Answers here

Ayodhya sees infrastructure push amid stagnant income, tourism numbers

An airport, railway station, connecting highways, roads, water, and power projects are among the initiatives announced ahead of the Ram Mandir temple consecration ceremony on January 22

LIVE: Governance infrastructure has failed in Manipur, says Rahul Gandhi

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Security tightened in West Bengal as devotees gather for Gangasagar Mela

The annual fair at one of the oldest and leading prilgrimage sites in the country draws devotees every year, who also take a holy dip in the sacred waters of the Ganga at Sagardweep

Puri heritage corridor project to open to the public on Jan 17 : SJTMC

Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, Divyasingha Deb Friday said the much awaited Puri Herritage Corridor (Srimandir Parikrama) will be dedicated to the devotees on January 17, 2024. Deb, who is the chief religious functionary of the famed temple besides being the chairman of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, visited the spot earlier in the day. Deb, who is considered the first servitor of the sibling deities Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra, later said, Many of the works are nearing completion and it will be open to the public on January 17, 2023. A special puja and havan' will be organised on the occasion. Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das said the Parikrama project will be inaugurated in a lavish programme with the help of the district administration. He said a grand puja will be held for about five days on the occasion and is likely to be witnessed by large number of people from here and abroad. The temple'

Mount Kailash to become accessible from India September onwards: Official

Hirak Project has been given the responsibility of developing 'Kailash View Point' by the Indian government