Ayodhya: Flight fares increased 3 times between Ram temple inauguration

Travelers are planning to visit Ayodhya for the inauguration of Ram Mandir According to data from online travel portals, they will have to dig deep into their pockets as air fares will increase to at least three times the normal rates on January 22.

On Thursday, flights from Delhi to Ayodhya and Mumbai to Ayodhya for January 20 and 21 were priced at around Rs 16,000, a significant increase from the average fare on these routes of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000. The flight from Mumbai to Ayodhya also crossed the Rs 20,000 mark.

“For the period around the grand Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22, there has been a significant 150 per cent increase in flight bookings to Ayodhya from January 1, 2024. Additionally, there has been a 70 per cent increase in flight bookings to Ayodhya from January 1. There has been an increase,” revealed. Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip, to HT.

With pilgrims coming from across the country to mark the inauguration of the Ram temple, Ayodhya’s Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30, is expected to serve around 10 lakh passengers annually at a cost of over Rs 1,450 crore. hopefully.

Currently, only IndiGo and Air India Express operate flights to Ayodhya from Delhi and Mumbai. However, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently inaugurated a direct flight from Delhi between Ayodhya and Ahmedabad.

An Ayodhya airport official noted higher load on flights to Ayodhya compared to return flights. “The cause is still unknown,” he said.

Industry experts believe that there has been a 35 per cent growth in spiritual tourism in the country, driven by destinations like Varanasi, Amritsar, Katra, Puri, Shirdi, Haridwar and Tirupati.

Not only have airfares increased, but Ayodhya has also seen a surge in hotel bookings and enquiries. Rajesh Mago, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, highlighted 5x increase in searches and 4x more bookings in Ayodhya from January 10-22 compared to last year.

“Room night bookings in Ayodhya are around 10 per cent of the top pilgrimage destinations in the country, indicating significant growth potential. Ayodhya is poised to become one of the major spiritual destinations in the country,” Mago concluded.