India has always been regarded as a land that promotes and lets one immerse themselves in spirituality and religious diversity, this is a key factor for the country attracting millions of pilgrims from across the world every year. In recent times, the country has witnessed a significant rise in pilgrimage and religious tourism.
This trend stands as a testament to the enduring faith of people and the increasing interest in exploring India’s rich religious heritage and all that it has to appear. In 2022, 1,433 million domestic tourists visited places of pilgrimage, while a whooping number of 6,64 million foreigners visited India. In 2021, the numbers were at 677 million and 1.05 million, respectively.
Ameliorated infrastructure and accessibility are the key pillars that contribute to the rise in religious tourism in India. Additionally, the growing popularity of wellness tourism and spiritual retreats has contributed to a massive increase in religious tourism. Many travellers seek a break from the fast-paced urban lifestyle and look for spiritual rejuvenation which is increasingly becoming important.
According to Rohit Sharma, COO, AbhiBus, has witnessed a rise in religious tourism- “Destinations like Tirupathi, Sabrimala, Dwarka & Varanasi are among the top religious places for Indians. 40 lakh Indians visited Tirupathi in May and a majority of visitors are from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vijayawada, & Chennai.”
He also mentioned that the pilgrimage destinations Sabarimala, Varanasi & Madurai also are among the top favourites. Sabarimala Sree Ayyappan Temple located on the Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve Kerala has the maximum number of devotees from Chennai, Karnataka & Vijayawada.
He further added, “Also, there is a subsequent increase in the no of devotees to Meenakshi temple located in Madurai, the majority of travellers are from Kottayam, Chennai, Bangalore, Ernakulam.”
For religious travel ConfirmTkt- India’s leading online train discovery and booking platform has witnessed the maximum traction from Uttarakhand (Chardham), Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Prayagraj), Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati), Bhubaneswar (Puri) and Tamilnadu (Madurai). For Bhubaneswar (Puri), 2 special trains have started for pilgrims. The platform has also seen an 8% increase in searches queries for the mentioned destinations as compared to last year
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