Ayodhya To Emerge As India’s Biggest Tourist Hotspot, Attract Over 50 Million Visitors Annually: Jefferies

The report noted that the Ram Mandir has boosted infrastructure spending in the city on projects such as airports and would help paint the town as a hot religious tourism destination

The grand Ram Temple consecration ceremony on Monday in Ayodhya could help the city bring in at least 50 million tourists annually, much higher than the other religious tourism hotspots of the country like the Golden Temple and the Tirupati Temple, a report by the brokerage Jefferies said. 

The analysis by the global brokerage firm found that the highly anticipated inauguration of the Ram Mandir which has boosted infrastructure spending in the city on projects such as airports, would help paint the town as a hot religious tourism destination and the town could attract more than 50 million tourists in a year, reported PTI. 

The brokerage noted that the $10 billion makeover of Ayodhya City, which included a new airport, a renovated railway station, a township, and improved road connectivity would help add to the economic activities in the city. Notably, Amritsar’s Golden Temple sees an influx of nearly 30-35 million tourists annually, while the Tirupati Temple attracts 25-30 million tourists in a year. At the global level, the Vatican City receives nearly 9 million tourists every year and Mecca in Saudi Arabia sees a footfall of nearly 20 million visitors. 

The brokerage said that religious tourism remained the largest segment in tourism in India. Despite the existing infrastructure issues, multiple religious destinations attract 10-30 million tourists annually, and the development of a new religious centre in Ayodhya, with better connectivity and infrastructure, could lead to a substantially larger economic impact. 

Notably, tourism accounted for $194 billion to the GDP in the 2018-19 fiscal year and is set to increase by 8 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) to touch $443 billion by the 2032-33 fiscal year. The report noted that the tourism to GDP ratio in India remained at 6.8 per cent of the GDP, which was lower than the majority of the large developing economies, which reported the ratio higher by 3-5 percentage points.

The report underlined that Ayodhya could add a significant boost to the country’s tourism industry and said that the Rs 85,000 crore makeover is set to ‘transform the ancient city from a sleepy town to a global religious and spiritual tourist hotspot’. The brokerage noted, “Tourism is projected to surge and increase economic and religious migration to Ayodhya, multiple sectors stand to benefit, including hotels, airlines, hospitality, FMCG, travel ancillaries, cement, etc.”

Ayodhya’s new airport’s Phase 1 has become operational and can manage 1 million passengers. The domestic capacity is set to increase and an international terminal is expected to be operational by 2025, which will add the capacity to handle 6 million passengers. The railway station of the city has been upgraded to double its capacity to 60,000 passengers per day. Further, a 1,200-acre greenfield township is in the works and road connectivity is also being improved. 

Currently, Ayodhya has nearly 17 hotels with 590 rooms, with 73 new hotels in the pipeline, of which 40 are already under construction. Among the big brands, Indian Hotels, Marriott, and Wyndham have already entered into deals for hotels, ITC is looking into opportunities in the city, and Oyo intends to add 1,000 hotel rooms. 

“India offers geographical variety, diversity, culture, heritage sites, and a treasure trove of art, music, and cuisines to make it a popular global tourist destination. And the temple at Ayodhya will only help unlock tourism potential of India,” the brokerage noted. Notably, India has been listed as the 7th most beautiful country by Forbes in 2022 and is one of the only three countries in the world to have both hot and cold deserts. The nation is also placed 10th on the Medical Tourism Index.