Much has been talked about the influx of tourists Ayodhya is expected to see with the inauguration of Ram Temple but the hotel infrastructure growth is yet to keep up with the growing number of travellers coming to the city.

Ayodhya, still an emerging hotel market, has seen a significant boost in hotel signings and development work but at the moment, the market is dominated by unbranded hotels, and only three branded hotels have opened recently, said Mandeep Singh Lamba, President, South Asia, HVS ANAROCK, a hospitality consultancy firm.

With the temple town anticipated to witness a substantial increase in tourist and pilgrim footfall, attracting both domestic and international travellers, the current supply is limited.

"Demand is going to far exceed supply as the city has over 200 quality accommodations. In terms of tourist footfalls, government reports indicate that the new Ayodhya airport, in its initial phase, is poised to handle 10 lakh passengers annually. This number is projected to increase to 60 lakh passengers annually after the completion of the second phase. These figures highlight the potential for expansion in the city's hospitality industry," Lamba said as reported by MoneyControl.

The supply availability of hotel rooms is far less than the expected tourist footfall. If the total amount of footfalls is about 10,000 people a day, the stay capacity would be less at about 4,000 people altogether in the hotels segment. So, it is a work in progress when it comes to hotel infrastructure in the city, said Giresh Kulkarni, Founder of Temple Connect and International Temples Convention & Expo (ITCX).

"There are new hotel properties and premises mushrooming across, but it will take time for it to be completely ready for hosting more people coming from all over the world. The city is still migrating from a small town to a large place. It is getting geared up to the standard and quality of other established temple towns like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kashi, among others."