All roads lead to Ayodhya as Oyo CEO flags tourist interest spike on Dec 31

Ayodhya is gearing up for the Ram temple consecration, with PM Modi inaugurating the Maharishi Valmiki Airport and the renovated rail station on December 30.

With India awaiting the inauguration of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, the pilgrimage site is now beating regular tourist destinations like beaches and hill stations in terms of bookings on Oyo, the foremost chain of budget hotels in India.

Ayodhya is gearing up for the temple consecration, with PM Modi inaugurating the Maharishi Valmiki Airport and the renovated rail station on December 30.

On New Year's eve, netizens got a clear picture of how Ayodhya is becoming a tourist hotspot after Oyo's CEO and founder Ritesh Agarwal shared on his X account that 80 per cent more users were searching for stays in the city.

Besides revealing the spike in searches for stays in Ayodhya, Agarwal, in another post, said the jump in bookings for the city (70 per cent) was above what was witnessed for popular tourist destinations like Goa (50 per cent) and Nainital (60 per cent).

"Holy destinations are now India's favourite destinations!" he said, adding, "Spiritual tourism will be one of the biggest growth drivers of the tourism industry in the next 5 years," Agarwal continued.

Oyo releases its Travelopedia every year, which is a summation of trends in its bookings throughout the country and abroad.

Its 2023 Travelopedia has revealed that Uttar Pradesh, the state where Ayodhya is located along with another holy destination—Varanasi—was the most-booked state in 2023.

Among pilgrimage destinations, Puri in Odisha is leading the pack, followed by Amritsar, Varanasi, and Haridwar.

Hyderabad was the most booked destination among the major Indian cities, followed by Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata.

"As remote working and flexibility declined, travellers sought to maximise their vacations and extended long weekends this year. However, the pandemic-induced trend of exploring domestic destinations continues to dominate," said the company's Global Chief Service Officer Shreerang Godbole, according to Travelopedia 2023.