Which Indian state has the largest tourist footfall? My answer: Uttar Pradesh

I keep asking simple questions because the answers reveal more than numbers — they reveal priorities, pressures and possibilities. When someone asks me which Indian state attracts the largest tourist footfall, I don't reach for hearsay. I look at the data and then at what that data implies for policy, infrastructure and culture.

The short answer

Uttar Pradesh. According to the state's own investment-promotion portal, Uttar Pradesh reported an annual footfall of 318 million in 2022, representing roughly 18.3% of India’s total tourist footfall. The portal also states that UP ranks first as a destination for domestic tourists, and ranks among the top states for foreign tourist visits as well Invest UP.

Source: Invest UP — Tourism & Hospitality sector overview (annual footfall: 318 million in 2022; 1st for domestic tourists).

Why UP leads — a few interlocking reasons

• Religious and cultural gravity: Cities and sites such as Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura-Vrindavan and the Taj (Agra) create perpetual domestic pilgrimage and heritage flows. These are not seasonal spikes but recurring patterns tied to festivals, rituals and life-cycle travel.
• Heritage and festivals: Beyond pilgrimages, UP’s concentration of monuments, fairs and cultural circuits pulls significant crowds year-round.
• Connectivity and scale: UP touts one of the largest railway networks and an extensive road/expressway system — connectivity that converts potential interest into actual visits Invest UP.
• Policy and promotion: The state is deliberately packaging culture and heritage as investible tourism assets and promoting them domestically and internationally Invest UP.

All of these elements are mutually reinforcing: cultural assets draw visitors; good connectivity turns intent into arrival; and active promotion multiplies both.

What the numbers hide (and what we need to care about)

High footfall is both opportunity and responsibility. A few things we must not overlook:

• Infrastructure stress: Millions of visitors strain transport nodes, sanitation, water and accommodation. This is an infrastructure planning problem as much as it is a tourism one.
• Environmental and heritage preservation: Heritage sites and riverfronts like the Ganga require careful conservation even as we expand access.
• Inclusive economic benefit: Large tourist numbers ought to translate into livelihoods for local communities, MSMEs, artisans and small hoteliers — not just big-ticket investments.
• Seasonality and resilience: Festivals cause heavy peaks; climate change and health shocks (pandemics) can abruptly alter flows.

These are not abstract concerns. They demand coordinated public investment, regulatory clarity, and creative financing models.

Where my earlier thinking connects to this

I have long written about the centrality of infrastructure and the role of state competitiveness in attracting investment. The same dynamics apply to tourism: states that speed up approvals, invest in transport and create predictable regulatory environments will convert cultural assets into sustainable economic gains.

• Years ago I wrote about how states were competing to improve ease of doing business — speeding approvals and building investor-friendly processes — which ultimately lifts tourism infrastructure too From Single Window to Single Day?.
• I also flagged the importance of a coordinated national infrastructure push — the kind of long-term planning captured by a National Infrastructure Pipeline — which underpins everything from airports to clean water and waste systems that tourism demands Govt forms task force to identify infra projects worth Rs 100 trillion.

The core idea I want to highlight is this — take a moment to notice that I had brought up the need for stronger, faster infrastructure and more competitive state-level ecosystems years ago. I had predicted the advantage such moves would confer, and now seeing how states such as Uttar Pradesh are leveraging scale and connectivity to attract tourists, I feel a sense of validation. It also renews my urgency: those early solutions still matter and must be pursued with greater intensity.

Practical implications — a few priorities

• Plan for carrying capacity: map peak demand zones and invest in sanitation, water and waste management accordingly.
• Invest in multimodal connectivity: rail, expressways and regional airports must be integrated with last-mile mobility for visitors.
• Promote community-based tourism: ensure artisans, guides and small businesses capture value through training, marketing and easier finance.
• Preserve rivers and heritage: Ganga rejuvenation, monument conservation and crowd management are not optional.
• Use data to manage flows: real-time dashboards, reservation systems for peak sites, and predictive planning reduce stress and improve experience.

UP’s 318 million footfall is an achievement — but it’s also a reminder. Numbers without quality, sustainability and shared benefits become liabilities.

Closing thought

Tourism can be a powerful engine of jobs and cultural diplomacy. Uttar Pradesh’s lead in domestic footfall shows how cultural depth, scale and connectivity combine to create mass movement. But leadership in numbers should translate into leadership in responsible management. That’s where infrastructure, governance reforms and local empowerment — themes I’ve long written about — have to be relentlessly pursued.

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Regards,
Hemen Parekh