Tourism is the world largest and fastest growing industry. It is an invisible export, which
earns valuable foreign exchange without any significant or tangible loss of physical
resources. It is a source of revenue and employment. Today, Travel and tourism has become
the largest employment generating industry, it touches not only the economic fabric of the
society but also has significant impact on social norms and moral values. Cultural and
Heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location
where tourism is occurring India is a country with great potential for tourism, although in
India tourism is yet to achieve its full potential but over the years it has made significant
strides. It is contributing about 6.8 per cent to the GDP directly and indirectly Uttar Pradesh
(UP) is one of the prominent tourist destinations in India where cultural and heritage tourism
is having abundance potentials, it’s a state in northern India, bestowed with a variety of
geographical land and cultural diversities. The state is one of the most ancient cradles of
Indian culture and lies largely in the plains formed by the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Uttar
Pradesh has possibly one of the largest numbers of tourist-worthy spots in any State in India.
The state is not only important for the domestic tourists, it is also famed for being on the
World Tourist Map owing to the presence of the Taj Mahal, considered to be one of the
Wonders of the World as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Additionally, it draws a
large number of tourists to a host of other locations for religious purposes, heritage
monuments, historical importance, or wildlife as well as its proximity to other important
tourist destination states like Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttarakhand provides it a competitive
advantage. In context of Uttar Pradesh, overall picture of cultural and heritage tourism cannot
be said to be satisfactory, there have been lukewarm approach with regard to identification of
heritage sites especially in rural areas. The issue of development of tourist infrastructure and
tourism business from cultural and heritage tourism have not been so impressive, the major
reasons being the ignorance and lack of proper information with regard to heritage sites, with
the identification of heritage sites and its consequent impact on tourism business, a plethora
of opportunities can be created including additional employment for rural youth, earning
handsome amount of foreign exchange and improving upon the living standard of people
residing in surrounding areas. The present study will try to take a synoptical view of
challenges as well as assess the growth and opportunities of cultural and heritage tourism in
Uttar Pradesh