UP hotel investment pipeline tops ₹44,250 crore amid tourism boom

The investment pipeline in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP’s) hotel industry has increased to more than ₹44,250 crore, signalling an uptick in tourism infrastructure. 

 

Over the last three years, maps and building plans for nearly 1,000 new hotels in Uttar Pradesh have been approved, with the property count rising incrementally in successive financial years (FYs).

 

According to the UP Tourism department, the annual hotel building plan approvals increased to 421 in FY26 from 205 in FY24 and 299 in FY25, respectively. 

 

Fresh proposals were also received during the first six months of FY27.

 

Hospitality major Mahindra Holidays has proposed an investment of ₹500 crore in Varanasi and Ayodhya, while Imagica World Entertainment will invest ₹400 crore in Greater Noida.

  

Similarly, Tuxal Theatre has proposed to invest ₹295 crore in Varanasi; Rajdeep Infra and Sales will invest ₹200 crore in Lucknow; and ITC Hotels has proposed an investment of almost ₹ 400 crore in Lucknow.

 

UP Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh claimed that better law and order, coupled with a remarkable improvement in the tourism infrastructure, was boosting the tourist inflow in the state.

 

Singh directed that the state’s 14 tourism circuits should be promoted through social media platforms and roadshows.

 

Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government is looking at promoting medical tourism in Lucknow and other cities.

 

In recent years, faith and heritage tourism has paid rich dividends to the state, especially in Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Mathura.

 

The state government is targeting to hike UP’s contribution of tourism-based gross value added (GVA) from the current 9.2 per cent to 16 per cent by 2047.

 

The inflow of domestic and international tourists more than doubled from 640 million in 2024 to 1.56 billion in 2025 in UP. 

 

UP ranks first and fourth in terms of domestic and international tourist inflow, respectively.

 

Meanwhile, Jaiveer Singh ordered the expediting of the installation of artificial intelligence (AI) cameras at tourism hotspots.