Fighting Overtourism: Madhya Pradesh Looks to Introduce Tourist Registration System — India Report

28.05.2024 - 18:21 / skift.com / Bulbul Dhawan

The central state of Madhya Pradesh could introduce a tourist registration system for its religious sites, including the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Skift has learnt from sources. The move aims to tackle the issue of overtourism and overcrowding at the state’s top tourist destinations. 

The registration system is in line with Uttarakhand’s mandatory registration for pilgrimage to the temples of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, or Hemkund Sahib. 

“We want to ensure that we cap the number of tourists according to our infrastructure capabilities, so that we can provide visitors with a good experience,” according to sources. However, this is still in the planning stage and the details are yet to be finalized.

Tourism Boom in Madhya Pradesh: The government of Madhya Pradesh last week revealed that it received over 112 million tourists in 2023, surpassing pre-Covid levels. 

This was significantly higher than the 34.1 million visitors recorded in 2022, an increase of nearly 230%. 

Places of religious significance are often visited by a lot of people, especially during festivals and religious events, leading to overcrowding and overtourism. This has led the state to explore measures such as mandatory registration of tourists for these destinations, sources added.

Religious Travel and Its Impact: Nearly 50% of the tourists that visited the state last year visited Ujjain, mostly due to its religious significance. The second most-visited city in Madhya Pradesh was Maihar, another destination of religious importance. Omkareshwar was also a popular tourist destination with nearly 3.5 million pilgrims visiting the city. 

Places of religious travel in India witness significant pilgrimage. In the first two months after the revamp of Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya and the opening of a controversial Hindu temple, the city witnessed over 11 million tourists. A report by brokerage firm Jeffries estimates that the city could attract over 50 million visitors annually. 

Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh received an upgrade with the Kashi-Vishwanath corridor in December 2021. Post that, in 2022 and 2023, a cumulative 130 million tourists visited the pilgrim town, Skift earlier reported. 

Data released by India’s ministry of tourism showed that in 2022, over 1.4 billion tourists visited religious sites across the country. Moreover, places of religious tourism earned INR 1340 billion (over $16 billion) during the year. 

India’s largest online travel company MakeMyTrip has introduced new features for passengers booking their train journeys using the platform. 

Seat Lock Feature: This feature aims to allow passengers to secure a confirmed ticket by paying a quarter of the fee at the time of booking, with the remaining payable up