Ayodhya, other spiritual cities attracting big retail brands

New Delhi: With rising spiritual tourism, retail brands are expanding their presence in cities like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Amritsar, Puri, Tirupati, and Ajmer, and also offering products to cater to the needs of pilgrims, according to CBRE. Real estate consultant CBRE on Thursday released a report 'Decoding Real Estate through the Spiritual Tourism Lens', highlighting that retail chains are capitalising on the surge in spiritual tourism across 14 key cities in India.

The report identifies Amritsar, Ajmer, Varanasi, Katra, Somnath, Shirdi, Ayodhya, Puri, Tirupati, Mathura, Dwarka, Bodh Gaya, Guruvayur, and Madurai as key cities witnessing this retail boom. The consultant noted that retail brands are strategically adapting their offerings in both established mall clusters and high-street locations to cater to the growing tourist population. In Ayodhya, Manyavar, Reliance Trends, Raymonds, Market99, Pantaloons, Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Reliance Smart have opened their retail stores, the report said. Manyavar, Reliance Trends, Zudio, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Burger King, Domino's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Spencer's, Reliance smart, Croma and Reliance Digital are present in Varanasi. Anshuman Magazine Chairman & CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, "The rapid expansion of spiritual tourism in India is driving the growth of the country's faith-based tourism market."