Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said 156 crore devotees and tourists visited the state in 2025, describing the footfall as an example of how faith and the economy can be linked to drive development.
Speaking at the ‘Panchayat Aaj Tak’ event in Mathura, Yogi said the state’s rich religious and cultural heritage had created significant potential for tourism and economic activity, citing the Braj region as an example. “Last year alone, 11 crore devotees and tourists came to the Braj region. And if I talk about Uttar Pradesh, in 2025, 156 crore devotees came to Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Yogi said the scale of the footfall had given the country and the world a new experience of connecting faith with the economy.
“This transformation is the result of a change in approach. Those who do not run away from challenges, but see possibilities in those challenges and take those possibilities towards solutions, establish new benchmarks of success,” he said.
The chief minister highlighted the rich festival and pilgrimage traditions of the Braj region, including Krishna Janmashtami celebrations in Mathura-Vrindavan, Holi festivities in Barsana, Brajraj Mahotsav, Panchkosi Parikrama, Govardhan Parikrama and Chaurasi Kosi Parikrama.
He said the scale of these religious gatherings demonstrated the potential for tourism-led economic activity in the region.
UP HAS EVERYTHING TO BECOME NO. 1
Yogi said Uttar Pradesh had several advantages, including its large youth population, fertile agricultural land, rich history and culture, religious and historical sites, a large consumer market and its geographical size.
He said the state’s population should be viewed as a “demographic dividend” rather than a challenge.
“We have the strength of our youth. We have to connect the scale of our young population with scaling up, connect their skilling with employment and link it with the startup ecosystem,” Yogi said.
He also highlighted the government’s efforts to promote investment and tourism infrastructure, saying 36 sector-specific policies had been introduced to facilitate investment.
Referring to a five-star hotel in the Braj region, Yogi said several proposals that had remained pending were cleared after his government intervened. “This excellent five-star hotel of the Taj Group has now been made available to devotees,” he said.
FAITH, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
Yogi said the development of infrastructure around religious destinations was part of a broader effort to convert Uttar Pradesh’s cultural and religious potential into economic opportunities.
He contrasted the current situation with the period before 2017, referring to the violence at Jawahar Bagh in Mathura in June 2016, in which 29 people were killed.
“Remember, this is the same land where, in June 2016, the unfortunate incident in Jawahar Bagh took place. Twenty-nine people were killed. There was unrest and lawlessness everywhere. UP Police officials were also killed,” he said.
The chief minister said the transformation of the region had helped create an environment in which large numbers of devotees and tourists were now willing to visit, while improved infrastructure was enabling religious tourism to contribute to the wider economy.
– Ends
Published By:
Priyanka Kumari
Published On:
Sep 3, 2026 19:01 IST
