Adityanath pitches UP as spiritual & wellness tourism hub, eyes Rs 50 bn

State govt targeting Rs 50 bn annual investment in tourism sector

Pitching Uttar Pradesh as the country’s spiritual and wellness tourism hub, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has said his government is targetting annual investment of Rs 50 billion in the tourism sector.

Adityanath said UP had immense potential in the spiritual and religious tourism space that his government was promoting such spots for attracting both national and international backpackers.

“Under the central roadmap to boost domestic tourism, UP has witnessed the development of maximum religious tourism hubs, which prominently comprise Ramayan Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Sufi Circuit, etc,” the CM said addressing the 53rd annual convention of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) here last evening.

He referred to the 2019 Kumbh Mela at Prayag, Allahabad, where an estimated 130 million Indian and foreign pilgrims are expected to congregate during January-March in the world’s largest gathering of faith.

“UP also has limitless possibilities in the health and wellness space, since the state possesses a large network of modern hospitals and qualified doctors,” he said, adding India in general had, over the past few years emerged as a major global healthcare hub due to affordability factor.

He said his government was developing wellness hubs across the state to attract tourists. The CM noted the traditional medicine and wellness systems of yoga, naturopathy and ayurveda were most effective to tackle health issues arising out of modern lifestyles, which was another factor for the country’s recent strides in the healthcare space.

“Tourism greatly supplements an economy and creates jobs at the local level. A number of countries are totally tourism-driven economies. Our state government is also proactively promoting tourism sector with this objective,” he underlined.

Besides, the state government is giving emphasis to other tourism segments, including ecotourism, wildlife tourism etc under the new UP tourism policy 2018, that seeks to upgrade the tourism infrastructure and attract private investment.

Meanwhile, Adityanath said UP had emerged as a preferred investment destination not only in India but globally too even as he claimed that investment proposals worth about Rs 5 trillion had been received so far after the UP Investors Summit held here on February 21-22.

He said several investment proposals pertained to the hospitality and tourism sectors as well and that the government would support these entrepreneurs.

“UP today stands as the state with limitless possibilities and our government has ushered in a new era of growth and development. Earlier, naysayers wondered as to who would be willing to invest in the state,” he said and referred to the foundation laying ceremony for projects totalling Rs 600 billion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lucknow on July 29. Another programme is scheduled to be held soon, where foundation laying for projects worth Rs 1 trillion would be executed.