Cultural Heritage

• India is the birthplace of Buddhism and Hinduism and attracts visitors who wish to explore these religions.
• The city of Varanasi on the Ganges is regarded as the spiritual capital of India.
• In 2017, the city of Varanasi had almost 6 million domestic and 300,000 international tourists.
• A great variety of temples and festivals attract huge numbers of heritage tourists.
• Famous buildings include the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the royal palaces of Jaipur  and the world renowned  Taj Mahal, a magnificent tomb at Agra near Delhi.
• India has benefited from the global increase in “wellness” tourism.
• Indian ashrams are centres offering a variety of programmes based on yaga, meditation and the quest for enlightenment.
• Cochin in southern India is one of the main centres for yoga and meditation holidays.
• Medical tourism is also growing; up to 150,000 people avail of cheap medical treatments such as dental treatments in India, mostly from the Middle East.