abu dhabi temple: Of business and belief: Corporate chiefs expect BAPS Hindu Mandir to help drive biz growth
Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal, Dabur’s Mohit Malhotra, Oyo Rooms’ Ritesh Agarwal, Kalyan Jewellers’ T S Kalyanaraman, RJ Corp’s Ravi Jaipuria, NSE’s Ashish Chauhan and Daikin’s Jayant Jawa are among the prominent India Inc leaders who have visited the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple in recent weeks.
Most of these CXOs expect the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi to help drive growth opportunities for consumer-facing Indian businesses in the Gulf region.
“In this amalgamation of cultures lies a wealth of learning and growth opportunities,” Dabur chief executive Malhotra said after his visit to the temple.
Besides the large Indian diaspora in the region, thousands of Indian tourists are expected to visit the temple.
While some companies are looking to create potential consumers among them, those that already have a presence in the region are looking to increase their market share and consumer outreach. Jewellery chain Kalyan Jewellers is looking to increase its geographical footprint and market share in the UAE. “We are optimistic about the region’s global prominence as a centre for tourism, culture and trade. Over the years, we have made significant investments in the region,” its managing director TS Kalyanaraman said. The BAPS temple — inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 14 — drew more than 65,000 visitors on its first public Sunday, the temple committee said in an official statement on March 3. “The temple will bring in civilizational change in the world,” said Kotecha who leads the volunteer-driven management of the temple built at an estimated cost of UAE dirham 350 million (about $95.3 million or Rs 789 crore).
Ola Cabs cofounder Bhavish Aggarwal, OYO Rooms founder and chief executive Ritesh Agarwal, National Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO Ashish Chauhan and Daikin general manager, overseas business, Jayant Jawa posted about their BAPS temple visits on social media.
“I am confident that India will… create a new paradigm of inclusive and harmonious development of the world,” Ola’s Aggarwal said in an X (formerly Twitter) post about his visit to the ‘lotus of the desert’ temple.
Temple tourism took a big leap with the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 this year.
While new hotels and infrastructure projects are coming up around pilgrimage centres in the country, companies making daily essentials, restaurant chains and jewellers among others are looking to deepen distribution and dealer networks, doubling marketing spends, opening showrooms or setting up vegetarian outlets near such pilgrimage spots.
According to a report by global brokerage firm Jefferies, religion is atop draw within tourism now.
“Several popular religious centres attract annual tourist traffic of 10-30 million despite the existing infrastructural bottlenecks. And hence, the creation of a new religious tourist centre (Ayodhya) with improved connectivity and infrastructure can create a meaningfully large economic impact,” the report said.
On Day 1 alone, the Ayodhya Ram temple saw a turnout of 500,000 devotees. Several celebrities marked their presence at the ‘pran pratishta’ ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol through social media posts.
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