UP to introduce QR code-based audio tours at 100 major tourist destinations

Lucknow : In a major step to enhance the tourist experience and promote cultural heritage, the Yogi government is set to launch an ambitious digital tourism initiative across Uttar Pradesh. The state’s tourism department is developing QR code-based audio tour portals and content at 100 key tourist destinations.

This initiative aims to offer both domestic and international tourists a unique, informative, and immersive journey through the state’s rich history, culture, and natural beauty. The core feature of the project is the introduction of QR-based audio tours that provide 5 to 7-minute storytelling experiences about the significance of each location.

These audio narratives will be available in 10 regional languages—Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, English, Kannada, Odia, and Malayalam—and 5 international languages—French, Spanish, German, Japanese, and Mandarin—making the content widely accessible.

To ensure a high-quality experience, the audio stories will be recorded by professional voiceover artists and will feature background music and ambient sounds to bring historical and cultural contexts to life. Additionally, the platform will include accessibility features such as multilingual subtitles and high-contrast text for the hearing impaired.

This project will cover 100 selected tourist sites across Uttar Pradesh. These include iconic places like the Triveni Sangam and Anand Bhawan in Prayagraj, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and Kanak Bhavan in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Ganga Aarti in Varanasi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Banke Bihari Temple in Mathura-Vrindavan, and the Bara Imambara in Lucknow. At these locations, weather-resistant QR codes etched on stainless steel will be installed. Tourists can scan these codes to access the audio tours.

This effort by the Yogi Adityanath government is a big step towards making tourism modern and accessible through digital technology. The QR codes will be linked with the Uttar Pradesh Tourism website and mobile apps (both Android and iOS), allowing easy access to the content. There will also be offline access available so that tourists can get the information even in low network areas.

To ensure the quality of the content, a team of historians, archaeologists, and cultural experts—from institutions like Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the Archaeological Survey of India—will review the scripts. This will ensure the information is historically accurate, culturally relevant, and interesting for visitors.