The city of Ayodhya underwent a significant transformation ahead of the temple's inauguration
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Ayodhya's Maharishi Valmiki Airport and the newly renovated railway station on December 30, setting the stage for the grand consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple. The city of Ayodhya underwent a significant transformation ahead of the temple's inauguration on January 22, with experts predicting a substantial surge in spiritual tourism.
Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of OYO, India's leading chain of budget hotels, shared data yesterday, on New Year's Eve. The information underscored Ayodhya's appeal as a tourist destination, surpassing even traditional favourites like hills or beaches.
On December 31, 80 per cent more users were searching for stays in Ayodhya, with the platform witnessing one of the highest spikes, Mr Agarwal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The OYO founder concurred with a user's prediction who said, "Ayodhya will be the biggest tourist place in India" and added that Banaras or Varanasi is doing exceptionally well when another user asked, "What happened to Varanasi in the last 3 years the tourist influx, much more than that expected for Ayodhya?"
In another post, Mr Agarwal shared more data, comparing Goa, Ayodhya and Nainital - Three regions in the country representing the mountains, beaches and a city in the plains with strong religious and spiritual significance.
"Ayodhya saw a 70 per cent jump in OYO app users compared to 60 per cent in Nainital and 50 per cent in Goa," Mr Agarwal said, adding that "Holy destinations are now India's favourite destinations."
"Spiritual tourism will be one of the biggest growth drivers of the tourism industry in the next 5 years," he said.
Prime Minister Modi flagged off six Vande Bharat and two new Amrit Bharat trains. The Amrit Bharat trains, which are a new category of superfast passenger trains, feature the 'push-pull' technology, which increases their speed as well as passenger comfort.
The Vande Bharat trains flagged off by Prime Minister Modi will kick start operations on January 4. The train from Ayodhya to Delhi's Anand Vihar station will run six days a week and will cover Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, Kanpur as well. Three Vande Bharat trains will originate from UP: The Gorakhpur-Lucknow and New Delhi-Varanasi are the other two trains.
The Ayodhya airport, which is called the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham, has been developed at a cost of over Rs 1,450 crore. The airport's terminal has an area of 6,500 sq m and will be equipped to serve about 10 lakh passengers annually.
Airlines will offer flights to and from major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Ahmedabad to cater to the thousands of people who are expected to visit the Ram Temple every day after the consecration ceremony.