Business Boom: How Ram temple will change the fortunes of Ayodhya

With the new Ram temple, Ayodhya is set for a big change. The temple town on the banks of the Sarayu River is abuzz with activity. It’s where India’s most powerful and influential people gathered for the consecration of the historic shrine. 22 January will go down in history – a day that will not only see the opening of the grand Ram temple but one that will change the fortunes of the town and its people. The mandir is expected to usher in a tourism boom and that’s going to be good for business. Ayodhya is the new destination for investment. From real estate developers to hotel owners, from airlines to corporates, all eyes are set on the town in eastern Uttar Pradesh. This means more jobs for locals and more money for the state. Don’t miss: Ayodhya Ram Temple Inauguration LIVE: The makeover of Ayodhya Ayodhya has been prepping for the Ram temple . Once all the celebrities leave, it’s the everyday tourists who are expected to throng the town and it is ready for the influx. Development has been on the cards and December saw the foundation stone-laying of projects worth Rs 11,100 crore. The town has a new airport terminal , spread over 6,500 square metres, which is set to cater to a million passengers every year. The Ayodhya Dham railway station was revamped for Rs 240 crore with amenities like airconditioned retiring rooms, dormitories, lodging rooms for the staff and more. Ayodhya will be home to a greenfield town, spread over 1,200 acres and valued at Rs 2,180 crore. It will have plots designated for mutts, ashrams, dharmashalas, and commercial purposes. The project has been initiated by the Uttar Pradesh government to alleviate congestion in the town once the influx of tourists begins. The infrastructure growth includes connecting highways, refurbished roads, water, and power projects. [caption id=“attachment_13642152” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Students make graffiti depicting Lord Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughna and goddess Sita on the wall of an overbridge near the Maharshi Valmiki International Airport, in Ayodhya. PTI[/caption] According to Gaurav Dayal, the divisional commissioner of Ayodhya, 102 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed during the Global Investors Summit, totalling around Rs 18,000 crore for tourism in Ayodhya, reports News18. Several entrepreneurs have submitted proposals to the government and district administration, expressing keen interest in investing in Ayodhya’s tourism sector. Under the Ayodhya Master Plan 2031, projects worth Rs 85,000 crore are in the pipeline to upgrade the town’s infrastructure. Hospitality boom: Hotels and homes Currently, Ayodhya has approximately 17 hotels with around 590 rooms. But that will not be enough to accommodate the hundreds and thousands of pilgrims who will visit to see the new Ram temple. Top hotel chains have their eyes set on Ayodhya. More than 50 big hotel construction projects are underway in and around the temple town. These include leading names in the hospital industry like the Taj, Oberoi, Trident, Marriott, Radisson and Ginger. Ayodhya will also get the world’s first seven-star vegetarian-only hotel, which will be built by a Mumbai-based real-estate firm The House Of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL). “We have received 25 proposals to set up hotels in Ayodhya, one of the proposals is to build a pure vegetarian seven-star hotel,” Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said recently. O Rama Hotels and Resorts project will build one of the biggest hotels in the city at the cost of Rs 140 crore. Around Rs 420 crore will be invested in other big industry projects, reports News18. [caption id=“attachment_13642172” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Workers put up cutouts of Lord Ram and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the opening of a grand temple in Ayodhya, ahead of the opening. AP[/caption] Ahead of the consecration, the online search for accommodation in Ayodhya surged. On booking.com, a travel portal, more than 75 per cent of the places selected for stay were unavailable. The platform has a list of 20 hotels, 12 apartments, 12 entire homes, seven homestays and six guest houses. Several hotels and other accommodations have reportedly raised their tariffs with some increasing rates by 200 times the regular fare, the News18 report says. By mid-December, hotel rooms which were selling at Rs 17,000 per night were going for Rs 73,000. The Ayodhya Tent City, which has 30 luxurious air-conditioned tents, was fully booked for 22 January with each tent sold at Rs 30,000 a night. The staff at the Tent City expects 100 per cent occupancy for a few weeks after the inauguration. Apart from hotels, the Lodha group also plans to develop residential plots, villas and high-rise luxury apartments in Ayodhya. The prices of land have surged. Jaideep Dang, head of hotels & hospitality, India at real estate services firm JLL told Business Today, “The realtors and hoteliers’ growing interest in the city has resulted in a threefold surge in land prices in the recent past as prominent developers from Mumbai and Delhi are purchasing land parcels.” Airlines and railways India’s air carriers like IndiGo and Air India Express have launched multiple flights connecting major cities with Ayodhya. Other airlines like Akasa Air and SpiceJet are unveiling plans to enhance air travel to the town. Arrangements have also been made at the newly inaugurated airport to accommodate chartered flights that ferry VVIPs. More than 100 chartered planes landed at the airport ahead of the consecration ceremony. Indian Railways has also introduced 200 “Aastha Special Trains” to Ayodhya after 22 January. Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi will have these services for devotees. There will also be trains from the Northeast likely originating from Assam’s Guwahati. [caption id=“attachment_13642182” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrives at Ayodhya airport, in early January. PTI[/caption] The rise in tourists The Ram temple will give a further push to India’s booming spiritual tourism . Officials in the Ayodhya Development Authority expected 7,000 guests for the inauguration ceremony. Three to five lakh visitors are likely to visit the town every day for at least a month after the inauguration, according to a report on CNBCTV18. With more than $10 billion in investments made in new airports, revamped railway stations, townships, and improved roads, the city is expected to attract around 50 million to 10 million footfall every year, according to a report by Jefferies, an American investment bank and financial services. More jobs and more business for locals Ahead of the opening, hospitality, travel and tourism created 20,000 jobs in Ayodhya, according to a report in Economic Times. With hotels and real estate projects coming up and the influx of tourists, more job opportunities will be created. Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer at Randstad India, estimated the creation of 20,000 to 25,000 permanent and temporary jobs. That number is expected to increase annually. And it is not Ayodhya alone that will profit. Even neighbouring cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Gorakhpur are expected to see the benefit. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that the consecration ceremony alone was expected to generate business worth Rs 1 lakh crore across the country. “This event not only resonates with religious sentiments but also brings a surge in economic activities. The faith and trust of people are leading to the creation of many new businesses based on the country’s traditional economic system,” Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary general of CAIT, told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_13642212” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Devotees watch a light show on the eve of the Ram temple opening in Ayodhya. Reuters[/caption] There is a demand for replicas of the temple, clothes with images of Ram, banners, flags, banners and more. And the local trades in Ayodhya are benefitting. The average resident has traditionally had an income lower than the per capita income of Uttar Pradesh. The per capita income of Ayodhya increased to Rs 32,293 by 2018-19, from Rs 24,800 in 2011-12, at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8 per cent, reports Business Standard. And it is only expected to go up. Arvind Awasthi, pro-vice chancellor at the University of Lucknow, told Al Jazeera that the state economy grew 14.3 per cent in the last financial year ending March 2023 and is expected to rise to 19 per cent in the current fiscal year mostly because of the economic boom in Ayodhya. The Ram temple is good for business. The people of Ayodhya are hailing its opening louder than others. With inputs from agencies