Thread by @BiIndia

The world's largest religious gathering is a $150 billion business

businessinsider.in/kumbh-2019-to-…

India’s Kumbh Mela 2019, the world’s largest religious gathering taking place in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh is expected to make the local state government as much as $150 billion in revenue.

#KumbhMela2019 #KumbhMela

Millions of pilgrims both from within the country and around the world visit the festival to take a holy dip at the confluence of three Indian rivers -- the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.

The sheer volume at #KumbhMela means massive business opportunity for local traders. Tourists from several countries including Australia, UK, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are reportedly attending the Kumbh.

The Uttar Pradesh government has reportedly spent close to ₹40 billion in this year’s fair which is three times more than the budget of last Maha Kumbh held in 2013. This year’s Kumbh mela is thus the costliest affair for the state government.

The hospitality sector will employ nearly 250,000 people while the aviation sector both airlines and airports) and tour operators are aiming to employ 150,000 and 45,000 people respectively.

Given the scale of the event, Kumbh boasts some impressive economics, employing over 600,000 people, CII said in its report.

Facilitating the massive number of tourists at #Kumbh has meant the government of Uttar Pradesh has had to build a new temporary city spanning roads stretching 250 kilometers and 22 pontoon bridges.