• Sumit Sharma
• Kavya Tandon

The religious destinations of Eastern Uttar Pradesh offer immense potential for tourism, rooted in the region's rich spiritual, cultural, and historical heritage. This research paper examines the branding and promotional strategies for key religious sites including Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, and Mirzapur, utilizing secondary data sources such as government reports, tourism statistics, digital platforms, and academic literature. The study highlights that while these destinations are deeply embedded in India’s religious and cultural heritage, their current branding efforts are often fragmented, failing to effectively leverage the diverse audience base and modern marketing tools. The paper analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of current marketing strategies and identifies a lack of cohesive, integrated branding efforts that target both domestic and international pilgrims. The findings suggest a need for a unified, well-coordinated branding framework that combines traditional spiritual significance with contemporary digital marketing practices. This includes enhancing digital presence, storytelling through various media, and fostering public-private partnerships to ensure sustainable tourism growth. The research offers strategic recommendations for repositioning the region as a prominent global religious tourism hub, emphasizing the role of cultural authenticity, social media engagement, and infrastructure development. The paper concludes by underscoring the potential of these religious destinations to contribute significantly to the regional economy and spiritual tourism growth, with a holistic marketing approach.

Religious Tourism, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Cultural Tourism, Tourism Branding, Religious Destination Marketing.

"Strategic Branding and Marketing of Religious Destinations in Eastern Uttar Pradesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 9, page no.a77-a87, September-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2509012.pdf

"Strategic Branding and Marketing of Religious Destinations in Eastern Uttar Pradesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 9, page no. ppa77-a87, September-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2509012.pdf