Uttar Pradesh’s tourism administration has identified safety and connectivity as the two priorities needed to sustain the state’s rapid growth in visitor numbers and strengthen tourism-led economic activity. Additional chief secretary for tourism and culture Amrit Abhijat made the remarks during a panel discussion titled ‘UP We Live In: Safety, connectivity and culture through young eyes’. He also said tourist arrivals increased from 320 million in 2022 to 1.56 billion in 2025, while more than Rs 10,788 crore was invested in tourism infrastructure.
Abhijat said better access to tourist destinations, combined with security, helps attract visitors and supports economic activity. The remarks place transport access and public safety at the centre of the state’s tourism expansion, rather than treating tourism only as a question of cultural promotion or destination marketing.
The figures cited during the discussion indicate a substantial increase in reported tourist arrivals over the three-year period. The source report does not provide a further breakdown of the figures by domestic and international visitors, destination, mode of travel or length of stay. It also does not specify how the tourism infrastructure investment was distributed across projects or districts.
The connectivity question is significant for a state whose tourism offering is spread across culturally and geographically distinct destinations. Access to destinations affects how easily visitors can reach them, move between sites and return to major urban centres. The official remarks did not identify particular road, rail, airport or public transport projects, nor did they announce a new connectivity programme or implementation timeline.
Safety was discussed alongside access as a condition for tourism growth. Vrinda Shukla, associated with the SP, Women and Child Security Wing 1090 of the Uttar Pradesh Police, said the state had strengthened its women’s safety system. “The entire spectrum of women’s safety has been made so robust that we are seeing results on the ground,” she said. The report does not include operational data or an independent evaluation of the system’s performance.
Writer and scholar Yatindra Mishra added that Uttar Pradesh’s history and geography were closely connected to India’s cultural and civilisational ethos, including themes reflected in the epics. His remarks linked the state’s tourism potential to its cultural and historical identity, while the administrative comments focused on the practical requirements of reaching destinations safely.
The discussion therefore brought together three parts of the tourism system: cultural identity, physical access and personal security. The tourism administration’s stated priorities suggest that the next stage of growth will depend not only on attracting visitors but also on the infrastructure and safety systems that support their movement through the state. Further details on the projects funded by the reported investment and on the measures behind the cited visitor numbers were not provided in the report.
