Addressing IATO delegates in Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath CM, of Uttar Pradesh said UP has immense tourism potential. “There is immense potential for tourism in UP. The result of the efforts of the last 5 years is that UP is number one in the country in domestic tourists.”
Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath said that the tourism potential of Ayodhya would increase by 10 times when the construction of Ram temple is completed in 2024.
Addressing the IATO delegates at the 37th annual convention of IATO, he said that Ayodhya was the centre of the faith of every Sanatani. Everyone aspires to come here once in their lifetime. The construction of the grand temple is going on a war footing. When the construction and development work of Ram Mandir gets completed in 2024, tourism in the city will increase 10 times, he said.
Similarly, he said, the Center and the state government were spending Rs.30,000 crore on the infrastructure development of Mathura Vrindavan. Terming Varanasi(Kashi) the “oldest city” in the world and India’s “cultural and spiritual capital”, Yogi cited how the number of tourists visiting Varanasi has registered a steep increase. “Earlier, usually one crore tourists used to come to Varanasi in a year, but after the formation of Srikashi Vishwanath Dham, this year one crore tourists came to Varanasi in the month of Shravan alone”, he said.
“UP is a state with infinite possibilities in terms of tourism”, he said. All major religious, spiritual, and eco-tourism centreseco-tourism, are present here. Uttar Pradesh is number one in terms of domestic tourism, the CM said affirming that UP was the safest state in the country. He acknowledged that the IATO programme was being organized in the state after a gap of almost two and a half decades. Yogi assured tour operators from all over the country that the safety of tourists and better connectivity will be guaranteed in UP.
“The state government is trying to make the state even more prosperous through excellent infrastructure works. We have the best policy, under which investment can be made in different areas. UP is giving a full guarantee of security to the investing partners”, he said.
Citing the example of Pragaraj, Yogi said that 24 crore devotees visited the city during the 2019 Kumbh. “It was one of the best-organized events”, he said. The CM also mentioned the government’s plans to develop Ramayana, Krishna and Buddhist circuits. The CM said that tourism can contribute to increasing the GDP of not only the state but also the country.
