Religious tours are very popular in India, whether it is a yatra to the Vaishno Devi temple in Katra, a visit to Tirumala’s Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh, or a pilgrimage to Buddhist holy sites such as Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh. Faithful and travel enthusiasts alike have been undertaking journeys to such places for decades. However, in recent years, there has been a lot of activity and conversation about them, owing to efforts by the federal and state governments, as well as a growing interest among tourists.
“Char Dham, Vaishno Devi Shrine, Amarnath, Varanasi, Tirupati Balaji, and Shirdi remain popular tourist destinations. For the next five years, this segment has the potential to grow by 20 to 30 percent per year. This is due to the manner in which religious circuits are developing. ”
Domestic tourists predominate in religious/ spiritual tourism. However, due to the growing infrastructure in this segment, the industry anticipates an increase in international tourist exposure in the coming years. Indians are leveraging weekends/extended weekends for spiritual travel
People had a strong desire to visit their favourite shrines, which they had not visited in a long time. Many people are making an effort to reestablish their spiritual ties. While senior citizens or fit seniors (aged around 60) continue to drive the market, post pandemic millennials have started to explore their religious/spiritual side as well. This is mainly because there is good infrastructure like hotels and restaurants in such destinations.
In upcoming destinations, the industry feels Ayodhya is getting the most attention. In times to come, Varanasi-Prayagraj-Ayodhya circuit will gain popularity along with lesser talked about destinations like Ujjain and Gaumukh.
According to one research published in LiveMint, the Indian religious and spiritual market reached a value of $44 billion in 2020. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% in the forecast period of 2022-2027. The market is being driven by increasing spiritual tourism. Puri, Varanasi, Tirupati, and Shirdi are some of the leading religious and spiritual tourism destinations in India. Simultaneously people are looking forward to paying visits to lesser known or less popular shrines too.
Earlier this year, the residents of Sainj Valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh urged the state government to boost religious tourism to generate employment for the youth. They asked the government for better connectivity to places like Manu Rishi temple and Shanghar to attract visitors.
The department of tourism in Karnataka has also submitted a proposal for the development of Sri Chamundeshwari Devi Temple in Mysore under the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme of the Union ministry of tourism
Last year, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the development of a religious tourist circuit that will cover all the places that were travelled by 15th-century Vaishnavite scholar Srimanta Sankardev.
According to an article published in CNBCTV18, religious destinations are the only places where Yatra.com did not see a lull in the business. The aggregators witnessed a hike of about 80 to 90 percent in booking demands from various destinations such as Rishikesh, Dharamshala, Haridwar, Dalhousie, Ladakh, Varanasi, Allypee, Kumarakom, Coimbatore, Amritsar, Chardham circuit, Puri and Pondicherry. Moreover, there is a 100 percent increase in hotel bookings around places like Tirupati Balaji, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Venkateswara, and Dakshineshwar Kali temple.
Modhera in Gujarat, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Rajrappa in Jharkhand are seeing a slow but steady increase in tourist inflow. A good infrastructure offering in terms of roads, railways, and accommodations will be a critical factor in creating new tourist destinations in India.