Pilgrimage drives nearly half of India’s domestic overnight trips; UP emerges top destination: Govt survey

Pilgrimage and religious travel accounted for nearly half of domestic overnight trips in India, while Uttar Pradesh emerged as the most visited destination, according to a government survey released on Wednesday.

Pilgrimage and religious travel accounted for nearly half of domestic overnight trips in India, while Uttar Pradesh emerged as the most visited destination, according to a government survey released on Wednesday. The Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey, conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) between July 2025 and June 2026, showed that 48 per cent of overnight trips covered under the 365-day reference period were undertaken for pilgrimage and religious purposes.

"The highest share of trips was reported for ‘pilgrimage & religious’ purposes (48%) by both sectors,” the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on the survey. Among rural households, health and medical travel was the second-largest category, accounting for 38.4 per cent of overnight trips. For urban households, holidaying, leisure and recreation was the second-largest purpose at 36.4 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest share of total visitor-trips at 15.7 per cent, combining travellers from within the state as well as other states. Tamil Nadu followed with a 13.4 per cent share, while Rajasthan accounted for 8 per cent. The survey also showed that health and medical travel involved the highest spending among the categories covered over the previous 365 days. Average expenditure on such trips stood at Rs 29,454 for rural households and Rs 41,649 for urban households.

For holidaying, leisure and recreation trips, transport accounted for the largest share of expenditure. Transport made up 32.6 per cent of non-package expenditure for rural households and 37.3 per cent for urban households. Travel preferences also differed between rural and urban India. Buses were the dominant mode of travel among rural visitors, with a 32 per cent share, while trains were the most used mode among urban households at 35 per cent.

Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 36 per cent of stays among urban overnight visitors. In rural areas, other non-commercial accommodation, including second homes and free accommodation provided by religious or other organisations, had the highest share at 28 per cent. The survey found that the number of overnight trips per 100 households that reported at least one such trip rose to 127 among rural tourist households from 118 in 2014-15. Among urban tourist households, it increased to 132 from 121. (ANI)