After $10 Billion Makeover Ayodhya Will Attract 5 Crore Tourists Annually: Jeffries

NEW YORK, NY (IANS) – Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is expected to have a big economic impact in the region as tourism is projected to surge to 5 crore visitors every year to the holy town, according to global brokerage firm Jeffries.

The opening it said, “Also comes with a large economic impact as India gets a new tourist spot which could attract 50 million plus tourists a year. A $10 billion makeover which includes a new airport, revamped railway station, township, improved road connectivity, etc. will likely drive a multiplier effect with new hotels and other economic activities. It can also set a template for infra-driven growth for tourism,” the Jefferies report states.

Amid increased economic and religious migration to Ayodhya, “multiple sectors stand to benefit including hotels, airlines, hospitality, FMCG, travel ancillaries, cement etc.”, the report added.

The Ram temple at Ayodhya can “create a meaningfully large economic impact”, said Jefferies.

Main pilgrimage site, spread over nearly 70 acres, will be equipped to host about a million devotees together. The number of pilgrims is expected to jump to 1-1.5 lakh per day, the report further stated.

“Religious tourism is still the biggest segment of tourism in India. Several popular religious centers attract annual tourist traffic of 10-30 million despite the existing infrastructural bottlenecks. And hence, the creation of a new religious tourist center (Ayodhya) with improved connectivity and infrastructure can create a meaningfully large economic impact,” it said.

“The makeover is now set to transform the ancient city from a sleepy town to a global religious and spiritual tourist hotspot. Tourism is projected to surge and increase economic and religious migration to Ayodhya, multiple sectors stand to benefit including hotels, airlines, hospitality, FMCG, travel ancillaries, cement etc.,” the Jefferies report added.

Before the pandemic, tourism contributed $194 billion to FY19 GDP.

This is now expected to grow at an 8 percent CAGR to $443 billion by FY 2033.

Currently, the tourism-to-GDP ratio in India, at 6.8 per cent of the GDP, puts the country below most of the large emerging and developed economies, which are higher by 3-5 percentage points.

Jefferies has picked Indian Hotel Company and EIH as the potential beneficiaries from the hotel space, while it sees ITC, Jubilant Food works, Britannia Industries, Godrej Consumer, Westlife Food world, Hindustan Unilever, Devyani International, and Sapphire Foods from the FMCG and QSR space.

Interglobal Aviation (Indigo), SpiceJet, IRCTC and Ease My Trip shall benefit from the travel sector.