Spiritual tourism has upended the potential of tourism in UP exponentially as better physical and digital infrastructure has made connectivity accessible to all, according to a study by the Economic Research Department of the State Bank of India.
UP topped the list of states that saw the most number of domestic tourist in 2022. It ranked fifth in terms of foreign tourists.
State government estimates show that 32 crore tourists visited UP in 2022 with Ayodhya accounting for 2.21 crore footfalls alone. Expenditure by domestic tourists exceeded Rs 2 lakh crore and additionally, spending by foreign tourists was around Rs 10,500 crore in 2022.
These figures are set to nearly double by the ended of 2024, “helping the state government earn an additional tax revenue of Rs 20,000-25,000 crore due to huge spurt in number of tourists during FY25,” said the
SBI report.
The report noted that the Centre’s Prashad (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme has played a “crucial role in the development of spiritual travel, creating an enabling ecosystem by augmenting infrastructure while disseminating knowledge at tier III and tier IV cities too as travel and hospitality sector integrates and gears up for the mega makeover to serve the hitherto unserved”.
“Going forward, India can look forward to creating a tourism map that seamlessly connects domestic historical places with those of Angkor Wat, Sri Lanka, Batu Caves, Pashupatinath, Prambanan,” the report added.
Larger contributor to India’s GDP
Besides a major boost to religious tourism, UP has also made major strides in the agriculture, industry and service sectors. UP accounted for more than 10% in India’s Gross Value Added, with increasing share of services (11.7%) in FY23, while its share in both industry and agri was above 8%, the report noted.
With the Indian economy set to scale to $5 trillion by FY28, it is estimated that UP will have the second-most weightage in India’s GDP by FY28, the report said.
In 2022-23, UP accounted for 8.2% of India’s GDP, which is expected to increase to 10% by FY 2028. Maharashtra will top the list at 13%, as per estimates.
“UP will be one of the two states which will break the $500-billion mark in FY28 when India achieves the 3rd place in global economy … UP is estimated to have an economy of around $515 billion while chart leader Maharashtra’s economy will be worth $647 billion,” the report said.
The state has also taken visible strides on export front, clocking CAGR of 7.1% in growth between FY2013-23 (against national average of 4.1%), doubling its export kitty with a 5% cumulative share nationally even as it becomes the sixth state in rankings.
UP has been further fuelling wealth creation through capital markets, adding maximum number of new investors during FY20-24 as its share vaults in excess of 10% as per bourses/depositories data, the SBI report said.
(With inputs from agencies)
