Lucknow: UP’s mango-growing districts are emerging as summer tourism hotspots, with tourist arrivals across five key mango-producing districts rising by nearly 32% during the peak harvest season, according to an analysis of tourism data for May-July 2025.Tourism department is widening its focus on experiential tourism by promoting orchard trails, farm stays, mango festivals and seasonal culinary experiences across the state’s mango belt.Home to the famous Dasheri orchards of Malihabad, Lucknow registered the sharpest rise in tourist arrivals, from 8.74 lakh in May to 14.06 lakh in Jul, a jump of 60.8%. Moradabad recorded an 18% increase, while Saharanpur (11.6%), Meerut (10.2%) and Amroha (6.6%) also reported growth during the harvest period.Officials attribute the trend to a growing preference among travellers for experience-led tourism centred around food, agriculture and rural culture. Rather than limiting visits to monuments and religious sites, tourism department is encouraging visitors to combine heritage circuits with orchard visits, seasonal cuisine and village-based hospitality.The strategy is particularly visible around Lucknow, where tourists are encouraged to extend their itinerary to nearby Malihabad for orchard walks and mango-based culinary trails. Homestays and farm stays in districts such as Barabanki, Banda and Prayagraj too offer guided orchard visits, mango festivals and curated tasting sessions, with operators reporting better occupancy and longer visitor stays during the season.Tourism and culture minister Jaiveer Singh said UP was increasingly presenting its regional identities as tourism products. “Tourism today is about experiences as much as destinations. UP’s mango heritage represents generations of farming traditions, cuisine and rural culture that deserve to be experienced first hand,” he said.Officials say UP’s position as India’s largest mango-producing state—with an annual production of 61.96 lakh metric tonnes, over 800 varieties and exports to countries including UK, Japan, Italy, the UAE and Singapore—is also helping strengthen destination branding by attracting visitors interested in origins of the state’s globally recognised mangoes.
