How small-town Ayodhya is enjoying its new-found celebrity status

From a small town to a fast-emerging hotspot for tourism, Ayodhya has undergone a massive transformation, thanks to the construction of the Ram temple along with a host of facilities like an international airport, redeveloped railway station, new hotels, and road connectivity.

Uttar Pradesh is set to become richer by ₹4 lakh-crore this year due to the growth in tourism, this in wake of the consecration of the Ram temple in the holy town. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s office cited a report by SBI Research claiming that the state is expected to earn ₹25,000 crore as tax revenue in the upcoming financial year.

To the residents of Ayodhya, life has changed almost overnight. From a sleepy town it has now become a buzzing economic centre – a smart city as well as a spiritual one. 

Tourism hub 

A report by foreign stock market research firm Jefferies claims Ayodhya will surpass Vatican City and Mecca in terms of devotees footfall. As per the report, Ayodhya is expected to attract around 5 crore devotees annually, making it a major tourism destination not only within Uttar Pradesh but also in the entire country.

The religious site is set to attract over 50 million tourists every year, said Jefferies, adding: “Religious and pilgrimage sites like Ayodhya, the Golden Temple, Vaishno Devi, etc. present significant captive markets offering strategic first-mover advantage.”

Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh attracts 2.5 crore devotees every year and generates an annual revenue of ₹1,200 crore. Vaishno Devi is visited by 80 lakh people annually and generates an annual revenue of ₹500 crore.

The Taj Mahal in Agra attracts 70 lakh visitors, generating an annual revenue of ₹100 crore, while Agra Fort sees 30 lakh visitors, contributing to an annual revenue of ₹27.5 crore.

Spurt in jobs, business 

Local vendors, shopkeepers, and businesses are witnessing a business boom. Street food vendors are making brisk business, and hope Ayodhya's culinary fame will reach a wider audience. The town is famous for its kheer, chaat, rabri, baati chokha and tehri, a rice dish.

The garments shops are also looking forward to more business, as pilgrims may buy traditional attire before visting the temple.

Souvenir shops are seeing zooming sales as tourists seek to take home miniatures of the temple and its Ram idol. 

Most hotels in the temple town are fully reserved till March. Tourists are now forced to seek accommodation in the neighbouring districts of Barabanki, Basti and even Lucknow and Gorakhpur, according to media reports.

Youngsters see potential

Without waiting for the government to launch its drive, the youngsters of the town have already started inventing ways to claim a pie in the business, says a PTI report. Prabhat Gond, a final year BA student, runs a small photography shop in Ayodhya. He started it as a hobby last year but now has team of five people. Sandeep Tiwari, who graduated with a science degree last year, has enrolled in a hotel management course. He wishes to join a hotel after completing his course, according to the report.

Like Tiwari, several graduate students of Kamta Prasad Sunder Lal Post Saket Graduate College in Ayodhya have enrolled in courses of spoken English, hospitality and even tour operators to equip themselves for the service sector.

“One of my relatives owns a tour company and needs somebody who can communicate with the foreign tourists in English. So I have enrolled in a six-month spoken English course to join the firm,” says Vidyant Singh, a BSc graduate from the college.

Many youngsters have found part-time immediate employment as touts and official guides in the city. Dhruv Shukla, 19, works as a guide-cum-tout. “I pick visitors from Lata Mangeshkar Chowk to visit Hanuman Garhi and other temples after offering prayers at the Ram temple,” says Shukla, who charges anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per group of visitors. Still a college student, Shukla plans to complete his graduation before becoming a full-time guide for tourists.

Hospitality industry boom

With the town now attracting thousands of tourists daily, it is all set to draw major players in hospitality, food, travel, and transport businesses to serve a massive captive customer base.

“The small town will attract top business franchises: Hotels including Indian Hotels, ITC, Marriott, and OYO; food chains including Burger King, McDonald’s, Jubilant Foods, and Devyani International; and airlines such as IndiGo, Tata group’s Air India, Spicejet and others,” said Jefferies in a note.

Hotels and hospitality companies are set to grab the increased footfall from pilgrims and tourists, both domestic and international. The sudden surge in demand and tourism will act as a multiplier effect with new hotels and other economic activities, said the note.

Ayodhya has around 17 hotels with nearly 590 rooms at present. However there are 73 new hotels in the pipeline, of which 40 are already under construction, according to Jefferies.

Indian Hotels has signed contracts for two new properties in Ayodhya, which will be operational in 2027, while ITC Hotels is exploring opportunities. Meanwhile, OYO will also add 1,000 hotel rooms in the city.

String of development projects

Aware of the fact that the grand Ram temple is set to turn Ayodhya into a spiritual, economic, and tourist hub, the people, particularly the trading community, is upbeat over the growth prospects in the future.

Residents feel that the holy town has witnessed a major transformation as it is no more a tiny town with small streets. It now has four-lane roads. It has become a municipal corporation. Big hotels and housing projects are coming up. It will emerge as a major cultural centre in the years to come, they opined.

Ayodhya was just one of the two municipal boards of Faizabad district with a budget of around Rs 12 crore in 2017. However, the holy town has now got its municipal corporation with a budget of Rs 500 crore and an expanded jurisdiction spreading across a radius of 89.58 sq km. A year later, in 2018, the UP government renamed the district Ayodhya. Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) vice-chairman Vishal Singh said 600 applications for home stays have been cleared in the past one year, of which more than 300 have been processed in just two months. 

Smart city initiative

Ayodhya’s smart city project has got a major boost now. The implementation of intelligent transportation systems, waste management solutions, and the digitisation of public services are seen as a big plus. Smart street lighting, better access to fresh water and road infra as welcomed by the residents.

When the temple architecture was put in place, the planners made sure the complex doesn't burden the small town. It is self-reliant, or atma nirbhar, in terms of water supply, sewage disposal, power supply and so on.  

Grouses remain

There are some grouses, too. Many shops and residences close to the temple were partially or fully demolished to make way for roads. The compensation has been the cause of much unhappiness.

Their only consolation is that the economic boom the town is witnessing will more than compensate their real estate losses.