Parking trouble awaits private jets on way to Ayodhya
₹12,000–15,000, much higher than the average fare of ₹3,000–5,000. The spike in hotel tariffs is starker, peaking to ₹45,000 per night for a room that would otherwise cost about ₹4,000. “The hotel industry is working on the infrastructure to cater to the footfalls expected for Ayodhya city, but this will take time.
Currently, there are a handful of three-star properties which have been reserved for government delegates and important personalities for the event," said P. P. Khanna, a board member of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality.
As per travel platform MakeMyTrip, search data for January reveals a spike in global search for Ayodhya as a spiritual destination—including from the US, the Gulf region, Canada and Australia. Other platforms are seeing similar patterns. “Our demand trends indicate increased interest for the destination from customers across segments, with an uptick of 400% versus pre-pandemic levels," said Indiver Rastogi, president and group head-global business travel, at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel.
“Given the limited hotel inventory, customers are inclined to look at day trips to Ayodhya and are booking accommodations in Lucknow and Prayagraj." Lucknow and Gorakhpur are about 135 km from Ayodhya by road, and Prayagraj about 170 km. Varanasi and Kanpur are further away, at 220–240 km. As per Thomas Cook, direct return airfares from these hubs to Ayodhya for the week beginning 22 January are 30–70% higher than average fares.
So far, IndiGo and Air India Express have launched scheduled commercial flight services to Ayodhya airport. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, operated its inaugural flight from Delhi for Ayodhya on 30 December. The airline operates a daily flight
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