Lucknow, Feb 15 : The sustained efforts of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the past seven years are paying off and religious tourism now accounts for a major share ion the tourism sector.

Over 46 per cent of the total 819 projects set for launch during the fourth groundbreaking ceremony (GBC-4.0) in the tourism sector are located in centres of religious tourism, namely Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura and Prayagraj, according to the official spokesman.

The tourism department's target for the event was Rs 37,500 crore. Against this, 819 projects worth Rs 33,134.47 crore are set to take off, which is an achievement of 88 per cent against the goal.

Of the total, projects worth Rs 15,434.18 crore are located in these four cities-- Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura and Prayagraj.

The projects include hotels, resorts, spas, retreats, theme parks and so on.

According to the spokesman, Varanasi leads the list with projects with 34 entries bringing in an investment of Rs 6,730 crore.

It is followed by Ayodhya which has been able to pull in 114 projects worth Rs 4,318 crore.

Mathura ranks number three with 74 projects to the tune of Rs 3,278 crore.

Prayagraj, which ranks number seven in the regular list, has been able to attract investment of Rs 1,108.18 crore through 21 projects.

Chitrakoot, which is also attracting a lot of pilgrims because of its connection with Lord Ram, has got eight new projects worth Rs 118 crore.

Principal secretary, tourism, Mukesh Meshram said that the figures speak for the rising tourism economy of UP which is riding the spiritual tourism wave.

"Apart from being the birthplace of Ram and Krishna and the abode of Shiva , Uttar Pradesh is also the land of Buddha's enlightenment. Then, there are 20-plus world-famous destinations closely linked to Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, Sikhism and Christianity. Together these facts make the state a must-visit for many pilgrims," he said.

Tourism minister Jaiveer Singh said that this was just the beginning for UP.

"Around 1.5 lakh tourists are visiting Varanasi daily while an equal number are already visiting Ayodhya since the Ram temple was dedicated to people," the minister said.

/IANS