Ayodhya has become the new centre of attraction for retailers, hotel chains and Bollywood celebrities alike. From superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who has bought a 10,000-sq-ft plot worth Rs 14.5 crore, to hospitality giants like IHCL evincing interest in opening hotels in the region, the temple town of UP is buzzing with activity amid the mega inauguration of Ram Mandir on January 22.
Fashion retailers Zudio, Westside and Cantabil are opening shops soon; so is jewellery chain Kalyan Jewellers that will inaugurate its 250th store in the city in February. While Domino’s and Starbucks are looking at setting up shop, QSR chain Burger Singh has already opened an outlet in the Civil Lines area of the city.
Amid the ramped up infrastructure and announcement and opening of several brand-new hotels, a bus terminus, railway station and the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Faizabad to ensure smooth transportation of tourists, the state government is also planning to convert havelis into hotels.
Mukesh Mesharam, principal secretary/ director general, tourism and culture, Uttar Pradesh, told FE that talks are being held with the erstwhile royal family of Ayodhya, which is ready to tie up with a hospitality group, to transform its palace into a heritage resort. Mumbai-based real estate giant House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) plans to invest Rs 3,000 crore to develop integrated townships in Uttar Pradesh. Of the total planned investments, `1,000 crore will be made in Ayodhya alone. Launching about 200-250 plots along with a club house, besides retail and hospitality projects, the Ayodhya township is located along the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway, about 15 minutes from the Ram temple and 20 minutes from Ayodhya airport. The company has also inked an MoU with The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts to build a modern palace hotel.
Abhinandan Lodha, chairman of HoABL, stated that Bachchan’s investment in the Ayodhya project reflects confidence in the city’s economic potential and deep appreciation for its spiritual heritage.
Greater Noida-based Galgotias University also plans to open a 200-room 5-star hotel, a well-equipped hospital and a sprawling mall, besides housing projects in the city. The hotel will have a state-of-the-art convention centre and a prayer room for bhajan-kirtan every day.
Meanwhile, the Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has signed two new hotels in Ayodhya —Vivanta and Ginger. Suma Venkatesh, EVP, real estate & development, IHCL, says, “Ayodhya is an important pilgrimage site and receives a very high footfall throughout the year. These hotels will complete the travel circuit in UP.” IHCL has partnered with Bhardwaj Global Infraventures for the development of the two hotels.
The Radisson Hotel Group opened Park Inn by Radisson Ayodhya earlier this month while Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has signed its first hotel in Ayodhya—Ramada Encore by Wyndham. The brand has six operational hotels and four under development in the segment built for young travellers.
Nikhil Sharma, market MD, Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, says, “The upcoming hotel strengthens our presence in UP. We are exploring the possibility of introducing some of our most renowned brands in Ayodhya.”
Anticipating a profound transformation in the region’s hospitality landscape, the inauguration signifies a monumental cultural milestone and presents a golden opportunity for the hospitality sector. “We foresee a surge in tourism, necessitating an expansion of accommodations, services and experiences. This surge is not merely a transient spike but an impetus for sustainable growth, prompting investments in infrastructure, encouraging local entrepreneurship and creating employment opportunities,” says Surendra Jaiswal, VP, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).
Anticipating a rise in flyers, IndiGo has commenced daily direct flights between Mumbai and Ayodhya, subsequently, connecting Delhi and Ahmedabad to Ayodhya. Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales, IndiGo, says, “With three major cities (Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai), customers will have multiple options connecting to Ayodhya, within India as well as overseas.”
SpiceJet is also set to launch non-stop flights connecting Ayodhya with Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna and Darbhanga, beginning February 1, deploying its 189-seater Boeing 737 aircraft on these routes. From February 15, Akasa Air will operate daily through flights between Pune and Ayodhya via Delhi (with no change of aircraft) enhancing connectivity between two major hubs.
GreenCell Mobility, an electric mobility provider, will deploy 150 electric buses in Ayodhya to ferry over 2 million devotees for the consecration ceremony. This fleet will play a crucial role in providing intra-city transportation service to devotees within Ayodhya from mid-January to the end of February, including the day of the ceremony and the surrounding days, marking a significant period for pilgrims and believers.
OYO has seen a staggering 350% increase in searches for Ayodhya on its platform over the past year. The brand has launched 51 homestays and 14 hotels in the city, offering a total of 1,000 rooms available for bookings. The brand has collaborated with the Ayodhya Development Authority and the Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation for its expansion plans and is betting big on religious corridors.
Even with a smaller visitor base, Ayodhya is already seeing a 5x upside in searches (y-o-y) and recording 4x more bookings as compared to last year, as per MakeMyTrip. “Spiritual tourism has grown by 35% in just over a year,” says Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip. While Hilton inaugurated DoubleTree By Hilton in Varanasi in 2023, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts recently announced the opening of Tulip Inn in the pilgrimage city of Shravasti, a revered destination for Buddhist pilgrims located about 100 km from Ayodhya. The Shravasti hotel is the second Tulip Inn branded hotel following a successfully operational hotel in Koramangala, Bengaluru. It is also the latest addition to Sarovar’s existing pilgrimage portfolio of nine hotels across leading pilgrimage destinations including Haridwar, Katra, Bodhgaya, Tirupati, Amritsar, Pavagadh, Badrinath, Ayodhya and Vrindavan. Zubin Saxena, SVP & country head, India, Hilton, says, “Cities like Ayodhya, steeped in religious significance and positioned for strategic infrastructure development by the state government, are poised to become attractive tourist destinations.”
Meanwhile, Pakka, a manufacturer of compostable packaging solutions, has partnered a sustainable alliance with Ram Mandir Trust to make Ayodhya a plastic-free zone by using compostable tableware for the inauguration event on January 22.
Ayodhya has become a magnet for investment, securing commitments worth Rs 49,000 crore during the 2023 Global Investor Summit. In 2022-23, Ayodhya saw a 131% surge in exports, at Rs 254 crore, across diverse sectors, up from Rs 110 crore in the previous fiscal.
