Impact
Religious tourism has the largest proportion of tourists in the world. These tourists travel in groups and extended families thus making up large numbers in every country. Over 300 million tourists visit the world’s major religious sites each year. In addition 600 million pilgrimages and spiritual voyages are undertaken nationally and internationally. In many ways faith based travel drives the growth of tourism all over the world.
In India too there is a growing interest in religious tourism and average expenditure on such trips has more than doubled in recent years. A large proportion of tourists visit religious places like Golden Temple, Tirupati, Amarnath, Ajmer Sharif and Banaras.
Chhattisgarh has a strong bond with Lord Ram since this is his nanihal (mother’s birthplace). He has also spent around 10 years of his vanvas (exile) in this state. The state is ideally placed to attract devotees of Lord Ram to travel to the various destinations along the Ram Van Gaman Paryatan Paripath.
An annual event coinciding with celebrating Ramnavami will strengthen this link between Chhattisgarh and Lord Ram. It would also be an invitation to devotees to come to the state to take part in the festival and offer their prayers at the Mata Kaushalya temple.
Through this event we hope to make Chhattisgarh an annual pilgrimage destination where devotees of Lord Ram will come each year to attend this event and also travel to other sites along the Ram Van Gaman Paryatan Paripath.