Mahakumbh 2025 sparks record religious tourism boom in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj reaffirmed its position as a focal point of large-scale religious and spiritual mobilisation, drawing crores of devotees from across the country during Mahakumbh 2025.

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Many visitors travelling to the holy city went on to extend their pilgrimages to other major religious centres in the state, including Kashi (Varanasi), Ayodhya and Mathura.

Key religious hub

While Prayagraj’s rise as a key hub of religious tourism predates the Mahakumbh, the scale of footfall witnessed during the event has since become a recurring trend since then.

Notably, the stampede during the Mahakumbh on January 29 last year on Mauni Amavasya slowed down the flow of devotees — albeit only for a few days.

The government announced that 30 people died in the stampede, the number later rising to 37. But defying fear, the caravans of devotees weren't deterred for long, marking the beginning of one of the most intense phases of religious tourism in the state.

It can be recalled that when the BJP received a thumping majority in the 2017 assembly elections, Yogi Adityanath, the head of the Gorakhnath Math, took oath as the chief minister. The government's pursuit of the Hindutva agenda thus became evident, and along with it, there was a rapid acceleration in the development of religious sites.

Year after year, a series of renovations of sacred temples and other religious sites began in Uttar Pradesh, and the influx of devotees accordingly increased.

Ayodhya Ram temple

Following the Supreme Court's verdict in 2019, the process of constructing a grand Ram temple at the disputed Ayodhya site was underway. The consecration ceremony held in Ayodhya ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, further increased its popularity.

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On November 25, the prime minister also hoisted a religious flag at the Ram temple in the presence of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Another key attraction in Ayodhya since 2017 has been the annual Deepotsav, which, the government said, set two new world records in 2025 -- for the largest display of oil lamps and most people performing aarti simultaneously.

Kashi corridor boosts footfall

Earlier, in December 2021, Modi inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, connecting the titular temple with the ghats along the river Ganga.

This, along with the Ram temple in Ayodhya, led devotees visiting Prayagraj in 2025 to plan their pilgrimage along this triad of holy sites. The charm of Mathura-Vrindavan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, further expanded it.

According to the official data, more than 66 crore devotees visited Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh alone, which was held between January 13 and February 26 last year.

Officials said that in Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura, tourists started gathering in the last week of December to celebrate the new year, and the police administration had to make additional security arrangements.

According to an official statement, in 2024, Uttar Pradesh received a total of more than 649.1 million tourists, including more than 2.36 million foreign tourists.

Festivals attract tourists

In 2025, within just six months (January to June), the total number of tourists exceeded 1.21 billion. The number of foreign tourists was more than 3.3 million, officials said.

According to the tourism department, Uttar Pradesh emerged as one of the most visited states in the country, with more than 1.37 billion domestic tourists in 2025 and a continuous increase in the number of foreign tourists. The religious sites played a major role in this growth.

Riding on the wave of faith, the state's economy also received an impetus. Festivals like Ayodhya's Deepotsav, Varanasi's Dev Deepawali, and Barsana's Holi in Mathura were also the major attractions for tourists.

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According to officials, the number of tourists visiting Mathura between January and June exceeded 3.37 crore; in Kashi, it was 12.96 crore and 23.82 crore in Ayodhya.

Kanwar yatra

Further, in July, more than seven crore devotees offered water at various Shiva temples during the Kanwar Yatra, according to official estimates.

Uttar Pradesh's religious sites have contributed to the increase in its share of national tourism — from 13.1 per cent in 2016 to more than 19-20 per cent in 2024, data showed.

Adityanath said, "The presence of 66 crore devotees at the Mahakumbh alone set a world record in the tourism sector." Sites like Kashi, Ayodhya, Mathura, Banke Bihari Dham, Vindhyavasini Dham, Chitrakoot, Naimisharanya, Shakumbhari Dham, Devipatan Dham, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Lumbini, Kapilvastu, Shravasti and Kaushambi are also attracting general tourists, according to the chief minister.

Heritage conservation drive

The state government's campaign for heritage conservation in Uttar Pradesh also continued to gain momentum in 2025.

In August, Adityanath inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 222 development projects worth a total of Rs 659 crore in Sambhal. He claimed that there were once 68 pilgrimage sites, 19 sacred wells, and a circumambulation path there, but "foreign barbaric invaders desecrated and destroyed our pilgrimage sites".

He announced that the sites and wells would be revived.

Buddhist tourism

Uttar Pradesh's Buddhist circuit — constituting six major sites like Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Kapilavastu, and Sankisa -- has also emerged as a strong centre of faith, belief, and global tourism.

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According to the tourism department's report, from January to September 2025, a significant increase was recorded in the number of domestic and foreign tourists and devotees visiting the Buddhist sites in the state.

Tourism Minister Jayveer Singh said there is a continuously growing global interest in Buddhist tourism in Uttar Pradesh. During the first nine months of 2025, a total of 61,15,850 tourists visited the six major sites, including 58,44,591 domestic and 2,71,259 foreign tourists.

The tourism department estimated that by the end of 2025, the number of tourists visiting these holy sites could have exceeded 64 lakh.
(With agency inputs)