Foreign tourist arrivals in the top three parks increased to 40,000 until May this year from 34,000 during the same period last year.
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In Madhya Pradesh, Pench, Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks became apparent as the favourite destinations. This fact is evident from the high influx of foreign tourists visiting the state this year. Compared to last year, the three Parks have experienced a significant increase in the number of international tourists visiting them.
In 2023, the combined number of foreign tourists visiting these three parks was 47,136. However, in the first five months of 2024 (January-May), the parks received 40,634 foreign tourists. During the same period in 2023, the number was 34,300. Nearly 45% of the 91,000 foreigners who visited the state until May this year chose to visit these National Parks. Bandhavgarh, which is home to 135 of the 745 tigers counted in the state during the 2023 census, remains the most popular destination for foreign tourists.
In 2023, the national park welcomed approximately 22,000 foreign visitors, showing an increase from the 16,600 visitors in the same period the previous year. Impressively, in the first five months of 2024, the number of foreign visitors has almost reached 20,000. Kanha, known for its 105 tigers, followed closely. The park saw around 16,000 foreign visitors last year, with 11,915 visiting from January to May 2023, and over 13,000 until May this year. The figures for Pench National Park were 8,224 in total for 2023, 5,524 from January to May 2023, and 7,165 from January to May 2024. However, amid the foreign tourist influx, the number of domestic tourists visiting these parks has not shown significant growth.
Last year, Bandhavgarh welcomed around 1.60 lakh visitors, while this year up to May, the number was 76,864. For Kanha, the numbers were 215,000 and 116,000 respectively, and for Pench, they were 155,000 and 60,000. Up to May 2024, Ujjain had received 27.9 million domestic tourists, compared to 47 million during the same period last year.
In 2023, the temple town attracted a total of 5.28 crore domestic tourists. Maihar, the second most popular tourist destination, recorded 56.8 lakh visitors until May of this year, 76.94 lakh until May of last year, and a total of 1.68 crore visitors in 2023. Pachmarhi, the state’s sole hill station, had 95,000 domestic visitors until May this year, a decrease from 4.01 lakh visitors last year.
These destinations have not attracted much interest from foreign tourists. Up until May this year, Ujjain and Maihar had not seen any foreign visitors. In the previous year, only 66 foreigners had visited Ujjain, and none had travelled to Maihar. The number of foreign tourists in Pachmarhi was just 23 last year, but it had increased to 58 by May this year.
