Uttar Pradesh secures $12 billion in hospitality investments

UTTAR PRADESH RECEIVED hospitality investment proposals worth approximately $12.2 billion, or Rs 1 trillion, in the last two years after introducing its 2022 tourism policy. The Indian state, which hosted the Global Investors Summit in February 2023, sees tourism as key to reaching its $1 trillion economy goal by 2029.

The state aims to expand tourism infrastructure and hospitality properties through private sector partnerships, Business Standard reported, citing government officials.

“The proposed investments include hotels, resorts, guesthouses, wellness centers, and homestays across all 75 districts,” said Mukesh Kumar Meshram, principal secretary of tourism and culture in UP, according to the report.

Most of the investment is targeted at religious and spiritual centers like Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj, alongside traditional hotspots such as Lucknow, Agra, Kanpur, and Noida, the report added.

The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is being held in Prayagraj from Jan. 13 to Feb. 26.

The report states that 10 new hotels are being built in Ayodhya, while a dozen properties are under development in Varanasi. Following the consecration of the Lord Ram temple in early 2024, Ayodhya has become one of the state’s top tourist destinations, welcoming 16.4 million pilgrims—a rise of over 10 million from the previous year.

Indian Hotels Co., operator of the Taj Group of Hotels, recently announced a luxury Taj property in Ayodhya, developed in partnership with the Solitaire Group.

Puneet Chhatwal, IHCL's managing director and CEO, stated the company will have 31 hotels in UP, including 18 under development, reflecting the state's growing prominence in domestic tourism.

UP receives the highest number of domestic tourists in India, Business Standard reported, citing official data. The state has about 190,000 hotel rooms, with 4,000 classified as quality rooms. It plans to add 200,000 new rooms, focusing on Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Agra, Mathura, Gorakhpur and the Buddhist Circuit, creating 300,000 jobs.

The state’s annual tourist footfall is expected to reach 850 million by 2028. In 2024, it saw 650 million tourists, a 17 percent increase from 480 million the previous year, according to the latest figures from the state tourism department. The number of foreign tourists grew by 667,000, from 1.6 million in 2023 to 2.2 million in 2024.

In a recent study, OYO ranked Hyderabad as the most-booked Indian city for 2024, while Puri, Varanasi, and Haridwar emerged as top religious tourism centers, drawing large numbers of pilgrims.