Dr. Prashant Kumar1 and Dr. Swati Yadav2
1Assistant Professor (Senior Scale) & Head, 2Assistant Professor (Senior Scale)1&2University Department of Geography, Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India
E-mail: prashantmgeo@gmail.com
Issue: Volume 2 No. 1 (March 2026) Anubodhan
Received: 15 February 2026 / Revised: 11 March 2026 / Accepted: 14 March 2026 / Published: 31 March 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n1.2026.002
Abstract
Tourism plays a pivotal role in regional economic development, particularly in culturally and religiously significant destinations such as Varanasi, one of India’s famous pilgrimage centres. This study analyses the temporal dynamics of tourist inflow in Varanasi district during 1998–2023 using secondary data obtained from official publications of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department. The findings indicate a sustained long-term upward trend in tourist inflow, with domestic tourism forming the dominant component of total arrivals throughout the study period. The regression results confirm a positive time trend demonstrating overall growth despite notable annual fluctuations. A pronounced disruption occurred during the COVID-19 period (2020–2021), causing a sharp decline in tourist arrivals, followed by a rapid recovery. The year 2022 marks a structural break in the tourism time series, indicating the shift to post-pandemic tourism recovery. High coefficients of variation reveal considerable instability, particularly in domestic arrivals, indicating that growth has been accompanied by significant year-wise variability. In contrast, foreign tourist arrivals, although smaller in magnitude, exhibited relatively moderate proportional fluctuations. The Wilcoxon test further establishes a statistically significant difference between domestic and foreign tourist inflow, confirming the structural dominance of domestic tourism. Overall, the study highlights both the expansionary trend and the dynamic variability of tourism in Varanasi, underscoring the need for stability-oriented and sustainable tourism management strategies.
Keywords: Temporal Analysis; Tourist Inflow; Domestic Tourism; Foreign Tourist; Tourism Stability.
How to cite: Kumar, P., Yadav, S. (2026). A Temporal Analysis of Tourist Inflow Dynamics in Varanasi District, U.P., India. Anubodhan, 2(1), 14–28. https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n1.2026.002