Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kashi has been witnessing rapid development in the recent past, and it is best explained through the significant rise in the number of tourists to the temple city.

The Tourism department’s figures have revealed that more than 5.38 crore tourists visited Kashi till December 2 this year alone whereas the total number of people visiting Varanasi in the last two years has gone up to more than 13 crore. The increase in tourist flow has also created multiple avenues of employment in the city while boosting trade and business.

The number of tourists coming to Uttar Pradesh has increased rapidly. Out of the 5.38 crore tourists that visited Kashi till December 2 this year, the number of Indian tourists was around 5,37,87000 thousand while the number of foreign tourists exceeded 13,700. In the meantime, the tourists’ flow to Kashi continues to rise.

In 2023, the highest number of tourists (9,722,206) arrived in Kashi in August, followed by 7,262,891 in July. The tourists’ flow to Kashi was 4,429,590 in January, 4,267,858 in April,  4,134,807 in February, 3,781,060 tourists in March, 3,225,476 in May, 3,696,346 in June, 3,897,844 in September, 4,255,674 in October and 4,826,776 in November.

Looking at the figures of December 1-2, the count was 3,07,430. Meanwhile, the flow of tourists and devotees to Kashi is likely to continue until New Year.

Tourist statistics for the

years 2018 to 2023

2023 (as of December 2):

— Indian tourists:

5,37,87,004

— Foreign tourists: 13,777

— Total tourists: 5,38,00,781

2018:

— Indian tourists: 60,95,890

— Foreign tourists: 3,48,970

— Total tourists: 64,44,860

2019:

— Indian tourists: 64,47,775

— Foreign tourists: 3,50,000

— Total tourists: 67,97,995

2020:

— Indian tourists: 8,76,303

— Foreign tourists: 1,06,189

— Total tourists: 9,82,492

2021:

— Indian tourists: 30,75,913

— Foreign tourists: 2,566

— Total tourists: 30,78,479