In India, spiritual tourism has experienced significant growth in 2023, with reports indicating a 35%-40% increase. This trend is expected to spike during the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Inauguration. Ayodhya tourism is particularly witnessing a surge in flight bookings for January 22nd, with almost 80% of flights already booked.
Airline executives anticipate approximately 15% of late bookings for short-haul travel, particularly within the next five to seven days. "Some individuals are avoiding travel on the inaugural day, expecting a rush, and intend to visit later," stated the executive. Additionally, he mentioned that flights are nearly 90% occupied for the entire month, reported by TOI.
He also said that there might be possibility of travel plans being postponed, with some travelers opting for train travel due to high airfares on January 22, the day of the temple inauguration. Following the airport's opening on December 30, both IndiGo and Air India Express commenced flights to Ayodhya. These airlines now offer connections from Ayodhya to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. Sources revealed that Akasa Air will introduce flights to the temple town from Delhi in February. "Given the relatively small visitor base for Ayodhya previously, we anticipate a fivefold increase in searches year-on-year and are already recording four times more bookings compared to last year," stated Rajesh Magow, CEO of MakeMyTrip group. "Notably, the period from January 10-22 is witnessing a sharp surge in bookings."
Magow added, "At present, room night bookings in Ayodhya account for nearly 10% of the top pilgrimage sites in the country, indicating significant potential for growth. Ayodhya is poised to emerge as a major spiritual destination in the country." MakeMyTrip has introduced an Ayodhya charter train package scheduled for February 15. This package will feature live bhajan mandalas on the charter train and VIP darshan assistance at the Ram mandir in Ayodhya and the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. Gaurav Patwari, VP of the air category at Cleartrip, mentioned that the company has observed a sixfold increase in searches for Ayodhya compared to the first half of December.
Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE, and visa at Thomas Cook (India) noted that the temple inauguration has led to "exponential" growth in demand for the destination. The company's data indicates an over 300% increase in searches for Ayodhya in December compared to October.