Ayodhya top tourist destination in U.P. with 11 crore visitors
The state tourism department on Saturday released figures of tourists arriving in the state in the first six months of the year, pointing out that around 33 crore tourists visited the state in this period. Ayodhya topped the list with 10.99 crore tourists, including 2,851 foreigners, visiting the temple town.
Lucknow: Ayodhya has edged out Varanasi to emerge as the top tourist attraction in Uttar Pradesh, with 11 crore domestic and international tourists visiting the temple town in the first six months of this year as compared to 4.61 crore visiting Varanasi.
The state tourism department on Saturday released figures of tourists arriving in the state in the first six months of the year, pointing out that around 33 crore tourists visited the state in this period.
“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,” said Jaiveer Singh, UP tourism and culture minister.
“This includes 32, 87, 81, 348 (32 crore, 87 lakh, 81 thousand and 348) domestic tourists, and 10, 36, 774 international visitors,” Singh added.
“ 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,” the minister added.
According to the tourism department, Ayodhya topped the list with 10.99 crore tourists, including 2,851 foreign visitors visiting temple town.
Varanasi followed with 4.61 crore tourists, including 1,33,999 international travellers. Prayagraj, Mathura, and Agra also remained major attractions, drawing millions of visitors each.
Other districts on the state’s tourist map were Prayagraj where 4,53,94,772 domestic and 3,668 foreign tourists arrived in the first six months of the year and Mathura which hosted 3,07,02,513 domestic and 49,619 foreign travellers.
The state capital also had 35,06,981 domestic and 7,108 foreign tourists, and Agra hosted 69,84,352 domestic and 7,03,860 foreign tourists till June this year.
“Uttar Pradesh is making a strong presence on the global stage as a top-tier tourist destination. The consistent development of tourist attractions and improved facilities are attracting visitors from around the world,” said Singh.


