Ayodhya Surpasses Varanasi; Emerges As Top Tourist Destination In UP

Ayodhya has emerged as the leading tourist destination in Uttar Pradesh, surpassing Varanasi with 10.99 crore visitors—both domestic and international—during the first half of the year. This compares with 4.61 crore tourists who visited Varanasi in the same period.

On Saturday, the state tourism department released new statistics showing that Uttar Pradesh attracted around 33 crore tourists in the first six months of 2024. Ayodhya topped the list with 10.99 crore visitors, among which 2,851 were from abroad. Varanasi came in second with 4.61 crore visitors, including 1,33,999 international travellers.

Prayagraj, Mathura, and Agra also remained significant draws. Prayagraj hosted 4,53,94,772 domestic tourists and 3,668 international ones, while Mathura attracted 3,07,02,513 domestic and 49,619 foreign visitors. Agra welcomed 69,84,352 domestic visitors and 7,03,860 from abroad by June 2024. The state capital also saw 35,06,981 domestic and 7,108 international tourists.

Jaiveer Singh, the UP tourism and culture minister, said: “A total of 32, 98, 18, 122 ( 32 crore 98 lakh 18,000 and 122) people visited various parts of the state in the first six months of 2024, compared to 31.86 crore tourists who visited in the entire year in 2022.”

Singh also highlighted the impressive growth, noting, “the surge is evident when compared with the first six months of last year which saw 19,60, 34, 967 tourists. This shows an increase of over 13 crore visitors this year.”