• • Best Cultural Destination in India Award for the year 2016-17by Lonely Planet Magazine
• • Best Mobile Application from the Skoch Group under Smart Governance awards category in 2015
• • Awarded for “Adapting to social media for the convenience and mobility of Tourist” by Digital Empowerment Foundation

• ► Allahabad is crowned in ancient scriptures as ‘Prayag’, ‘Prayagraj’ or ‘Teertharaj’ and is considered as one of the holiest pilgrimage centre of India.TheArdhKumbh is held in every six years and Mahakumbh in every 12 years at Allahabad (Sangam) are the largest gatherings of pilgrims on this earth. The gathering attracts more than 4 Crore tourists.
• ► Ayodhya also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, is the birthplace of Lord Rama and setting of the epic Ramayana. It is regarded as one of the seven most important pilgrimage sites (Sapta Puri) in India. It attracts more than 1.5 Crore tourists every year.
• ► Agra is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and a major tourist destination because of its many Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal (one of the Seven Wonders of the World), Agra Fort and FatehpurSikri. It is included in the Golden Triangle tourist circuit, along with Delhi and Jaipur. It attracts more than 1 Crore tourists every year.
• ► Varanasi or Kashi situated on the banks of the Ganges is a major religious hub in India. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism. It attracts more than 50 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Vindhyachal is a renowned religious city in Mirzapur District. The city is a Hindu pilgrimage site having the temple of Vindhyavasini Devi situated on the banks of the holy river Ganga. It is one of the most revered Shakti Peeths of the presiding deity, Vindhyavasini Devi. It attracts more than 30 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Lucknow is a multicultural city that flourished as a North Indian cultural and artistic hub, and the seat of power of Nawabs in the 18th and 19th centuries. It attracts more than 40 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, is one of the Sapta Puri - the seven holy cities in India. It attracts more than 60 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Chitrakoot- 'Hill of many wonders' is in the northern Vindhya Range of mountains spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh.ChitrakootDham is one of the most ancient holy pilgrim places of India. It attracts more than 50 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Vrindavan, situated in Mathura district, is one of the major holy places in the state.It is the land of Radha Rani, also known as the City of Temples which has more than 5000 temples to showcase the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. It attracts more than 1.25 Crore tourists every year.
• ► Goverdhan is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town in Mathura district.The town is also famous for its 21 km long Parikrama of the famous Govardhan Hill. It attracts more than 1 Crore tourists every year.
• ► Sarnath is a city located in north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers.It was also the site of the Buddha's DhammacakkappavattanaSutta, which was his first teaching after attaining enlightenment, in which he taught the four noble truths and the teachings associated with it. It attracts more than 4 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► FatehpurSikri is a town in the Agra District founded in the year 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585.It is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India. It attracts more than 1 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Jhansi is a historic city located on the banks of the Pahuj River in Bundelkhand region. In the 18th century the town of Jhansi served as the capital of a Maratha province and later the Princely State of Jhansi from 1804 till 1853, when the territory became a part of British India. It attracts more than 1.25 Lakh tourists every year.
• ► Shravasti, located near the West Rapti River, is closely associated with the life of Gautama Buddha who is believed to have spent 24 Chaturmases here. It attracts more than 1 lakh tourists every year.
• ► Kushinagar is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where it is believed that Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana after his death.The followers of Buddhism, especially from Asian countries, wish to visit this place at least once in their lifetime.

• • Heritage Arc( Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi) - Famous tourist spots in Heritage arc: Taj Mahal, FatehpurSikri, Sikandra, Agra Fort, BadaImambada, ChotaImambada, ChattarManzil, Kashi Vishwanath Temple, SankatMochan Hanuman Temple, Ghats, Ramnagar Fort
• • Braj Circuit( Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan) - Famous tourist spots in Braj Circuit: Taj Mahal, FatehpurSikri, Sikandra, Agra Fort , Shri Krishna JanmaBhoomi Temple, Dwarkadhish Temple, PremMandir, Shri Banke Bihari, Iskcon Temple
• • Vindhya Varanasi Circuit( Varanasi, Chunar, Vindhyanchal) - Famous tourist spots in Vindhya Varanasi Circuit: Kashi Vishwanath Temple, SankatMochan Hanuman Temple, Ghats, Ramnagar Fort, Chunar Fort, Vindhyavasini Devi Temple, Ashtabhuja Devi Temple
• • Awadh Circuit( Lucknow, Dewa Sharif, Naimisharanya, Ayodhya) - Famous tourist spots in Awadh Circuit:BadaImambada, ChotaImambada, Dewa SharifDargah, Chakra Kunda, Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhawan
• • Buddhist Circuit( Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kapilvastu, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Sankisa) - Famous tourist spots in Buddhist Circuit:Dhamek Stupa, Mahaparinirvana Temple, Ganwaria Archaeological Site, DaenMahamongkoi Chai Temple, Ashoka Pillar, Bisari Devi Temple
• • Bundelkhand Region (Mahoba, Chitrakoot, Kalinjar, Jhansi, Deogarh, Charkhari)- Famous tourist spots areNeelkanth Temple, Kalinjar fort, Kakra Math, Jhansi fort, Dashavatara Temple, Kamtanath Temple, Ram Ghat.
• • Sonbhadra Region - Famous tourist spots are Rock painting caves, Shiv Dwar Temple, Renukeshwar Temple, Fossil Park, Lakhaniya Dari, Mukkha falls, Vijaygarh fort, Hathinala Eco-point.

• • Ramayana Circuit ( Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Shringhverpur)
• • Mahabharata Circuit ( Hastinapur, Kampilya, Ahichchhatra)
• • Krishna Circuit ( Mathura, Vrindavan, Goverdhan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon)
• • Jain Circuit (Meerut, Agra, Kaushambi , Varanasi, Deoria , Ayodhya, Shravasti, Farrukhabad
• • Sufi Circuit (FatehpurSikri , Rampur , Badaun, Bareilly , Lucknow , Kakori ,Dewa Sharif , Bahraich , Kichocha Sharif, Syed Kadak Shah Dargah, Allahabad, Kantit SharifDargah)
• • Freedom Struggle Circuit (Bithoor town (Kanpur), Kakori town (Lucknow) Meerut, Cantonment, all other Cantonment)
• • Craft, Cuisine & Culture Circuit (Lucknow , Agra, Rampur, Firozabad , Varanasi, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh , Kannauj, Pilibhit, Bareilly, Aligarh , Najibabad/Nagina)
• • Water Sports Circuit (Gorakhpur, Chuka (Pilibhit), Mata Tila (Lalitpur), Vindhya, Rajgarh (Jhansi))
• • Kawad Circuit (Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gonda , LakhimpurKheri, Kalinjar, Ayodhya)
• • Shakti Peeth Circuit (Vindhyachal, Balrampur, Varanasi, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Sonbhadra, Saharanpur)

• • A unique initiative to bring international and Indian journalists to Uttar Pradesh’s Heritage Arc – Agra – Lucknow - Varanasi – to experience various facets of the state such as food, textiles, heritage, wildlife and landscapes
• • In the conclave, participants are given a choice to pick one of the three cities of Heritage arc i.e. Agra – Lucknow – Varanasi and explore the city as per their convenience.
• • The success of the event speaks for itself and can be seen through its widespread connect with more than 6 Lakh followers and responses by more than 40 thousand participants.

• • The KumbhMela is believed to be the largest religious gathering on earth and considered as the "world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims” held every 12 years on the banks of the 'Sangam'- the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati
• • An estimated 120 million people visited MahaKumbhMela in 2013 in Allahabad over a two-month period including over 30 million on a single day, on 10 February 2013 (the day of Mauni Amavasya)
• • The efficient and timely arrangements at the KumbhMela attracted the attention of many governments and institutions across the world including The Harvard University, USA
• • Currently Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh is focusing on marketing and branding the upcoming ArdhKumbh 2019 through its campaign in print, electronic, outdoor and online media.

• • For the first time, a mega event capturing the imagination of the world was organized at Ayodhya on 18th October 2017, to celebrate the festival of Deepawali at the place closely associated with the history of great epic Ramayana.
• • Guinness World Record attempt of 'Largest display of oil lamps' was made by the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh during ‘Deepotsav’ in Ayodhya. Over 187,213 earthen oil lamps were lighted at Ram ki Paidi, with the support of local administration and approximately 2,000 volunteers.
• • The event gained a massive reach on social media platforms, the key ones being Facebook and Twitter. The hashtag #DiwaliinAyodhya was trending at 1st position on Twitter for more than an hour.

Capital Subsidy

• • 15% or INR 7.5 Crore whichever is less for all projects where bank loan is more than INR 5 Crore and up to INR 50 Crore
• • 15% or INR 10 Crore whichever is less for projects coming up in Bundelkhand, & Buddhist Circuits where bank loan is more than INR 5 Crore and up to INR 50 Crore

Interest Subsidy

• • 5% for first 3 years – for bank loans up to INR 2 Crore
• • 3% for first 3 years – For bank loans more than INR 2 Crore and less than INR 5 Crore

Stamp Duty

• • 100% stamp duty for land transfer charges of Heritage hotels will be reimbursed by the Tourism Department
• • 50% stamp duty for land transfer charges of other tourism units will be reimbursed by the Tourism Department after start of operations

Conversion and Development charges

• • Land use conversion and development charges shall be waived off for all new tourism units

Luxury Tax (Prior GST)

• • Exemption for all new tourism accommodation units for the next five years

Trade Tax (Prior GST)

• • Restaurants in newly constructed hotels to be exempted from trade tax for the first five years

Entertainment Tax (Prior GST)

• • Newly constructed theme parks, amusement parks and water parks to be exempted for the next five years

• Udyog Bandhu – Dedicated single window body: Udyog Bandhu is an IS/ISO 9001:2008 certified 3-tier (District level, Divisional level & State Level) dedicated body of the Government of Uttar Pradesh acting as a single window system since 1st January 1999. It provides 360 degree services for the purpose of setting up of businesses in the state and covers all industrial approvals.

• NiveshMitra – Online single window: Implemented in 2009, the online single window system of the state NiveshMitra – has been ranked as one of the best in India according to the erstwhile Planning Commission report (March 2014). The portal has a monitoring dashboard with colour coding for officials to monitor progress. NiveshMitra also updates investors about the progress of their application through SMS.

• UPIGRS – Online Grievance Redressal: UPIGRS is an online platform for the entrepreneurs to submit their grievances to Udyog Bandhu. It also provides a grievance monitoring mechanism across Uttar Pradesh. The issues lodged through this portal are forwarded to the dedicated Grievance Cell at Udyog Bandhu who in turn forwards the grievances to the nodal officer of the relevant department for necessary action by specifying a possible resolve time (15 Days). UPIGRS provides a Unique Token Number (UTN) to the complainant which can be used to track the status of his/ her complaint.

• Common Application Form: Entrepreneurs can apply for all the approvals/ clearances required for starting a business in Uttar Pradesh through a Common Application Form (CAF) available actives Mitra – the online single window system of the state. The CAF considerably reduces the time and hassle faced by businesses/ investors in filling multiple applications by eliminating the need of filling up repetitive information in the forms.

• Timelines of Services under Online Single Window System: NiveshMitra – the online single window portal of the state ensures that the services are delivered within the prescribed time limit as suggested by various acts, GOs, charters etc.

• Time bound service delivery: Uttar Pradesh Legislature had passed the Uttar Pradesh Janhit Guarantee Act 2011 on 3rd March 2011. Through the Act, the Government made it mandatory for departments to ensure time bound service delivery. Multiple industrial services across various departments have been brought under the ambit of this. The key departments providing services under the Uttar Pradesh Janhit Guarantee Act 2011 include Departments of Electrical Safety, Pollution Control Board, Directorate of Factories, Small scale Industries, Labour, Registration, Forest, Public Works Department, Commercial Tax Department, Housing and Urban Planning, Entertainment Tax and Power Department.

• Hospitality & Accommodations-
Hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), recreational vehicle (RV) and tentCampgrounds, resorts, specialty lodges, inns, cabins, four-season resorts

• Transportation-
Services to, from and around the tourist destination through different modes like helicopter, road transports, cruise, etc.

• Guided tours and tour guides
Informative and entertaining tours of an area’s local attractions

• Lifestyle
With serene natural destinations across the state, tourism products offering flexibility, peace of mind and personal enrichment offers top potential.

• Yoga & Wellness Centre -
Establishment of wellness resorts, specialized centres of Ayurveda and Unani method of treatment

• Museums, heritage and cultural complexes-
Establishing museums and heritage complexes for showcasing State’s art & culture.