Passengers planning to fly to Ayodhya for the inauguration of the Ram temple on January 22 will have to dig deep into their pockets, with airfares spiking to at least three times the usual rates, according to data from online travel portals.
On Thursday, flights from Delhi to Ayodhya and Mumbai to Ayodhya for January 20 and 21 were priced around Rs 16,000, a significant increase from the average fare of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 on these routes. Mumbai to Ayodhya flights even crossed the Rs 20,000 mark.
“Flight bookings to Ayodhya have surged by a remarkable 150 percent since January 1, 2024, for the period around the grand Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22. Additionally, flight searches to Ayodhya have increased by 70 percent since January 1,” revealed Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-Founder of EaseMyTrip to HT.
With the Ram Temple inauguration drawing pilgrims from across the country, 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.
Currently, only IndiGo and Air India Express operate flights to Ayodhya from Delhi and Mumbai. However, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently inaugurated direct flights between Ayodhya and Ahmedabad from Delhi.
An official from Ayodhya airport mentioned higher loads on flights to Ayodhya compared to their return legs. “The reason for this remains unknown as of now,” he added.
Industry experts note a 35 percent growth in spiritual tourism in the country, driven by destinations like Varanasi, Amritsar, Katra, Puri, Shirdi, Haridwar, and Tirupati.
Not only have airfares surged, but hotel bookings and inquiries have also seen an uptick in Ayodhya. Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, highlighted a 5X increase in searches and 4X more bookings in Ayodhya from January 10-22 compared to last year.
“The room night bookings in Ayodhya are almost 10 percent of the top pilgrimage sites in the country, indicating significant potential for growth. Ayodhya is poised to become one of the major spiritual destinations in the country,” concluded Magow.
