‘80% more users are searching for stays in Ayodhya’: OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal on New Year's Eve booking

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport along with the revamped Ayodhya railway station on Saturday, the online hospitality firm OYO’s CEO Ritesh Agarwal said that Ayodhya had seen a 70 per cent surge in hotel bookings on New Year's Eve. This number was more than the numbers witnessed by any other popular destinations such as Goa and Nainital.

In addition, Agarwal also predicted that spiritual tourism would be "one of the biggest growth drivers" of India's tourism industry in the coming five years. “Holy destinations are now India's favourite destinations! Ayodhya saw a 70 per cent jump in OYO app users vs Goa (50 per cent) and Nainital (60 per cent). Spiritual tourism will be one of the biggest growth drivers of the tourism industry in the next five years,” Agarwal wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

In another tweet earlier the same day, he wrote how 80 per cent of users had searched for stays in the city. "Na hills, na beaches! 80 per cent more users are searching for stays in Ayodhya today! Seeing one of the highest spikes," he said.

A lot of social media users also came in to share their views in the comment section. One of the users wrote, “Usually, spiritual tourists spend very little compared to typical vacationers. You go to a resort, dine, sip liquor, and do fun activities, and all that puts money into the economy. Now some people are doing that abroad and putting money into some other country's economy.”

“Ayodhya is not a tourist destination my dear friend....it's pilgrim destination and all of us are eagerly waiting to see ram lalla and if you want to offer good accomodation at a reasonable cost for piligrims please do so by the grace of lord shreeram.....,” added another user.

Meanwhile, IndiGo's first flight left for Ayodhya from Delhi soon after the airport's inauguration. The revamped airport is situated 15 km from the main city, and its phase 1 is built at a cost of over Rs 1450 crore. In addition, the city is all ready for the ‘pran pratistha ceremony’ or the inauguration ceremony of the Ram temple on January 22.

Also Read: Ayodhya's grand temple: Who is sculptor Arun Yogiraj whose Ram Lalla idol got selected for Garbha Griha