Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday 1 Feb proposed Rs 2,449.62 crore for tourism
development around key religious sites in the country. FM Sitharaman stressed
it has tremendous opportunities for local entrepreneurship. This budgetary support was an increase from
Rs 2,400 crore in FY2023-24. The money will enable the government’s Integrated
Development of Tourist Circuits programme to develop more sites nationwide.
The increased funding
will help promote tourism around themes like Swadesh Darshan, which is set to
receive Rs 1,750 crore, up from Rs 1,412 crore in 2023-24. Besides, for
publicity, promotion and marketing, Rs 176.97 crore has been allocated, up from
Rs 75 crore in 2023-24.
Stressing the
government’s commitment for spiritual tourism growth in India in her interim Budget for 2024-45, Sitharaman said, “Our middle class aspires to travel and explore. Tourism, including
spiritual tourism, has tremendous opportunities for local entrepreneurship.”
She said a framework
to rate spiritual tourism centers based on their facilities, services, and
quality will be developed, and the states are encouraged to develop their
‘iconic centers’ and brand and market them globally. She said interest-free
loans may also be provided to them for this purpose. These announcements give
be a huge boost to the local tour operators around the country against the
backdrop of the Ram Mandir pilgrimage in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.
Also, the budget for
overseas promotion, publicity, and market development has been reduced from Rs
167 crore to Rs 3 crore for FY2024-25.“To address the emerging fervor for
domestic tourism, projects for port connectivity, tourism infrastructure, and
amenities will be undertaken on our islands, including Lakshadweep. This will
also generate employment,” said the FM.
For FY2024-25, the
outlay for the “Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation
Drive” (PRASHAD) scheme, launched in 2014-15 to promote religious tourism in
India, is Rs 240 crore. Recently, the
investment bank and securities research company, Jefferies, projected that
Ayodhya would receive more than 50 million tourists annually by 2050.
According to PTI, the
Ram temple in Ayodhya received around 25 lakh visitors in the 11 days following
the consecration ceremony. It could be an example for other cities and states
to develop spiritual tourism and local entrepreneurs.
The infrastructural
development and push for branding the city have not only attracted a tremendous
number of tourists but also are set to create employment opportunities as the
city develops, including for hotels, travel companies, railways, flight
operators, and more.