Tourism in Maharashtra

Trimurti statue in Elephanta caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Maharashtra attracts tourists from other Indian states and foreign countries.[1] It was the second most visited Indian state by foreigners and fifth most visited state by domestic tourists in the country in 2021.[2] Aurangabad is the tourism capital of Maharashtra.[3]

Mumbai Skyline
Kailasa Temple, Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Gateway of India, Mumbai
Shaniwar Wada, Pune
Mahabaleshwar Hill Station
Ajanta Caves Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Maharashtra has a number of places that attracts national and international tourists. The most popular or well known are the state capital, Mumbai, Ajanta, Ellora caves and the Nature reserves in the state.[4] Ajanta–Ellora are the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mumbai, being the biggest and the most cosmopolitan city in India, attracts tourists from all over the world for its many attractions including colonial architecture, beaches, Bollywood, shopping, and an active nightlife.[5][6] The city attracts three million foreign and forty million domestic tourists annually. The state wants to increase the numbers by allowing retailers and entertainment venues to be open 24-hours a day, seven days a week.[7]

Pune city, along with MTDC, organises many cultural events during Pune festival which coincides with the Hindu Ganeshotsav festival.[8][9][10][11] Hill stations built during the British rule are popular tourist destinations, especially during the summer months. These include Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala, and Matheran in Western Maharashtra, and Chikhaldara in the Vidarbha region.[12] The mountainous districts of Western Maharashtra are dotted with the ruins of hundreds of mountain forts from the Deccan Sultanates and the Maratha empire eras. These forts and the surrounding hills are popular among people interested in trekking, and hiking, and heritage tourism related to Shivaji. Notable forts popular with tourists include Shivaneri, Rajgad, Sinhagad, Raigad, and Pratapgad.[13]

A number of temples such as Trimbakeshwar, Bhavani of Tuljapur, Shani Shingnapur, Jyotiba Temple, Ashtavinayaka Ganapati temples, Lord Pandurang temple at Pandharpur attract a huge number of Hindu devotees every year. Khandoba temple of God Khandoba at Jejuri in the Pune district attract pilgrims from all over the Maharashtra where worshippers shower each other with Bhandar (turmeric powder).[14] Saibaba temple at Shirdi is visited by an average of 25,000 pilgrims a day and during religious festivals, this number can reach up to 300,000.[15] The places associated with the Warkari sect such as Pandharpur, Dehu, and Alandi remain popular throughout the year, and attract huge number of people from all over the state during religious observations.[16] Situated in Nanded, Sikh Gurudwara of Hazur Sahib, also known as Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib, is one of the five takhts in Sikhism. The area around the city of Aurangabad has many ancient and medieval sites including the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora caves, the Daulatabad Fort, and the Bibi Ka Maqbara.[17]

The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra has numerous nature reserve parks. These include Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district,[18] Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary in Nagpur district, the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary, and Navegaon National Park (bird sanctuary) of Gondia District.

According to a survey by the government of Maharashtra, in 2009–10, domestic tourists accounted for 98% of the total number of visitors to Maharashtra and the remaining were foreign.[19] Visitors from the US, UK, Germany, and UAE each form a significant percentage of the foreign tourists.[19] The state government has established the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) for the systematic development and promotion of tourism in the state. MTDC owns and maintains resorts at all key tourist centres.[20]

  1. ^ "Andhra Pradesh top tourist destination: Tourism Ministry". 18 July 2011.
  2. ^ "India Tourism Statistics 2022" (PDF). www.tourism.gov.in.
  3. ^ "Aurangabad". www.maharashtratourism.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  4. ^ Athma, Prashanta; Nalini, G. (2013). "Tourism in India- An Analysis". International Journal of Management Prudence. 5 (1): 25–35. ProQuest 1490677543.
  5. ^ Nallathiga, Ramakrishna (September 2006). "Integrating Entertainment, Tourism, Heritage and Culture into the Development of Cities: A Case for Mumbai". ITPI Journal. 3 (3): 67–72. SSRN 987481.
  6. ^ Indra, S.R. and D'Souza, J.N., A study on Tourists Loyalty based on Impact of Destination Image and Tourists Satisfaction in Mumbai. Food, Tourism and Hospitality Perspectives, p.217.[1]
  7. ^ Udas-Mankikar, Sayli (March 2020), "24x7 Cities: Recommendations for an India Playbook" (PDF), ORF Issue Brief (342), Observer Research Foundation, ISBN 978-93-89622-71-3, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2022
  8. ^ Mahadevia, Darshini. (2008). Dynamics of High-Tech Zones in Pune: Emerging Trends and Impacts. []
  9. ^ Kale, Pramod (1979). "Ideas, Ideals and the Market: A Study of Marathi Films". Economic and Political Weekly. 14 (35): 1511–1520. JSTOR 4367902.
  10. ^ Nagapurkar, S., Narkhede, P. and Sheriff, V.A., 2020. Energizing the Future with Memories of the Past: The Wadas of Pune City. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 170, p. 05006). EDP Sciences.
  11. ^ Shinde, K., 2014. 2 Ganesh festival. Rituals and Traditional Events in the Modern World, p.23.[2]
  12. ^ Shukla, A.V. and Badwaik, H.B., 2008. Tourist Satisfaction-A study of Tourist destinations in Maharashtra. Conference on Tourism in India – Challenges Ahead, 15–17 May 2008, IIMK [3]
  13. ^ Kohli, M. S. (2002). Mountains of India : tourism, adventure and pilgrimage. New Delhi: Indus Publ. Co. pp. 263–266. ISBN 9788173871351.
  14. ^ Singh, K.; Bhanu, B.V. (2004). People of India. Mumbai: Anthropological Survey of India. p. LIX. ISBN 9788179911013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  15. ^ Shinde, Kiran (2018). "Governance and Management of Religious Tourism in India". International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage. 6 (1). doi:10.21427/D7K42M.
  16. ^ Patange, P., Srinithivihahshini, N.D. and Mahajan, D.M., 2013. "Pilgrimage and the environment: Challenges in a pilgrimage centre in Maharashtra, India". International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 3(6), pp. 2269–2277.
  17. ^ Shukla, A.V. and Badwaik, H.B., 2008. Tourist Satisfaction-A study of Tourist destinations in Maharashtra.[4]
  18. ^ Mhatre, Shridhar. "Amazing Maharashtra: Tadoba National Park". Amazing Maharashtra. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Tourism Survey for State of Maharashtra" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  20. ^ "About MTDC". Maharashtratourism.gov.in. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.