Each year, 50 million people visit Ayodhya, and Ram Mandir is projected to bring divine happiness to travel and hospitality businesses.

Ram Mandir Opening: The grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is expected to transform the small town into a popular tourist destination. Top hotels, such as Indian Hotels, ITC, Marriott, and OYO, as well as food chains, including Burger King, McDonald’s, Jubilant Foods, and Devyani International, and airlines, like Indigo, SpiceJet, and Air India, among others, are expected to set up shop in the town.

The formal opening of the Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya is expected to trigger a $10 billion transformation of the sleepy town into a major tourism destination, tripling hotel capacity and drawing in travel, hospitality, and transportation companies to cater to an enormous captive clientele.

According to a note from Jefferies, the little town would draw major corporate franchises, including airlines like IndiGo, Tata group’s Air India, Spicejet, and others; hotels like Indian Hotels, ITC, Marriott, and OYO; and food chains like Burger King, McDonald’s, Jubilant Foods, and Devyani International.

Jefferies stated that the religious site is expected to draw in more than 50 million visitors annually and that “religious and pilgrimage sites like Ayodhya, The Golden Temple, Vaishno Devi, etc. present significant captive markets offering strategic first-mover advantage.”

Accommodation and Warmth

Hotels and other hospitality businesses have the potential to benefit from the influx of pilgrims and visitors, both domestic and foreign. The memo stated that new hotels along with other economic activities will see a multiplier effect from the unexpected spike in demand and tourism.

Due to an increase in both tourists and locals, the brokerage firm also predicts that Ayodhya will see a significant demand for FMCG, consumer staples, and quick service restaurant (QSR) chains.

Aiming to meet the demand, quick service restaurant chains like Restaurant Brands Asia (RBA), Devyani International, and Happy Foods are either in the process of establishing stores or have already started to do so. Burger King, on the other hand, was ahead of the curve because it opened a store in the city in the first half of 2023.

Ayodhya Ram Mandir Real-Time News

According to Jefferies, Ayodhya’s makeover might benefit the following FMCG and QSR names: Jubilant Foodworks, Britannia Industries, Godrej Consumer, ITC, Westlife Foodworld, Hindustan Unilever, Devyani International, and Sapphire Foods.

Railways, Aviation, and Related Industries

Given that Ayodhya is home to a notably larger population of visitors and locals, it will also need improved domestic and international connectivity to facilitate travel, which presents an opportunity for industries like aviation, railroads, and ancillary service providers, according to Jefferies.

Ayodhya has previously been declared by InterGlobe Aviation, the owner of Indigo, as its 86th domestic destination. Direct flights are scheduled from Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Air India, a company controlled by the Tata Group, has recently announced direct flights from Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Delhi to Ayodhya.

Joining the trend, Spicejet and Akasa Air have announced flights linking Ayodhya with several places. IRCTC, a railway services provider, also revealed travel packages to Ayodhya.

Jefferies identifies the main winners from an increase in travel to Ayodhya and the ensuing spike in passenger demand as InterGlobe Aviation (Indigo), SpiceJet, Akasa Air, IRCTC, Make My Trip, and Ease My Trip