The tourist inflow to Madhya Pradesh has doubled in the last four years, according to the data provided by the state government. The total number of tourists visiting Madhya Pradesh in 2008 was 2,23,40,660, which almost doubled to 4,43,89,000 in 2011.

In 2008, 2.51 lakh foreign tourists visited the state. The figure last year was 2.69 lakh. Orchha was the biggest draw last year, with as many as 29,63,359 tourists visiting this historical city. Of this, over 50,000 were foreigners.

The hill station town, Pachmarhi, stood second with 9,10,151 visitors, mostly domestic. Among pilgrimage centres, a whooping 1,18,70,000 visited Maihar, followed by Bhedhaghat (90,60,832) and Ujjain (29.72 lakh).