Despite surge in demand for travel to Ayodhya, airfares decline ahead of Ram Temple inauguration

Indiver Rastogi, President and Group Head, Global Business Travel, Thomas Cook (India), and SOTC Travel, explains the factors contributing to the surge.

"Spiritual tourism has evolved as a concept, and we are witnessing a definitive surge in demand of nearly 100% for travel around the dates of the inauguration of Ram Temple," Rastogi told CNBC-TV18.com.

This surge, Rastogi notes, extends beyond regional boundaries, capturing the attention and interest of travellers from metropolises and mini-metros alike.

However, what may surprise many is that the flight fares from the key metros to these cities in Uttar Pradesh are seeing a drop.

"Our data reflects that despite the spike in demand, return fares to Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur in the week of January 22nd have witnessed a drop of 4–17% compared to the September–December period from hubs like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai," Rastogi added.

For instance, the average return fare from Mumbai to Gorakhpur, previously at ₹15,900 between September and December, has dropped to ₹15,000 in January 2024. Likewise, the average fare of ₹9,600 in Mumbai-Lucknow-Mumbai has dropped to ₹8,000. For sectors such as Kolkata-Lucknow-Kolkata, airfares have decreased from ₹9,890 to ₹8,290, and Chennai-Varanasi-Chennai has slipped to ₹12,509 from ₹13,399.

The Hyderabad-Prayagraj-Hyderabad route has seen a decline from ₹13,786 to Rs 13,026.

Rastogi advises travellers to plan their travel and hotel bookings.

"Given the spike in demand, we recommend customers book their flights well in advance for their travel. Also, customers should keep an eye out for special discounts and offers by airlines to avail of the best deals."

However, Bharatt Malik, Senior VP, Flights, Yatra Online said, "Ever since the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor has been revitalised, pilgrims are flocking to Varanasi on a frequent basis. While we have witnessed an increase in demand to Varanasi from major cities such as Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, there is a major demand from Mumbai to Varanasi with fares up by 20-25%. We are expecting this demand to pick up further across flights and hotels once the Ayodhya Temple inauguration dates are announced officially as devotees prefer pilgrimage in a circuit. We recommend devotees to plan their travel as early as possible to get more value for their money."

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