Religious tourism in India - statistics & facts
Religion has been one of the oldest reasons for travel in India. While the tourism and hospitality industries are important to the south Asian country’s GDP, leisure travel, specifically makes up a significant part of the tourism market. Domestic tourism is a key driver within the market. While Hinduism is almost synonymous with the region, India is also the birthplace of several other religions including Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The country with the largest population in the world is also home to a significant number of Muslims and Christians, among other faiths.
Longer holiday packages touring through religious sites have also been a standard offer within the travel agent market in India. In recent years, promoting domestic tourism was a key focus for the current government, specifically religious and adventure tourism. This worked well in unison because of the concentration of religious sites and socio-religious practices. Some common practices include going to the Venkateshwara Temple in Tirumala for tonsuring as an offering to celebrate a child’s first birthday, as is the estimated 20 million pilgrims celebrating the annual St. Mary’s Feast at the Velankanni’s Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health.
While religious tourist routes or circuits have been identified and continue to be developed, the fact remains that religion is an integral aspect in India’s political climate. With a ruling party focused on nationalism, the traction in Hindu-focused centers was palpable over other minority centers. The most recent change adding to the list of political and religious contentions, were those in the Hajj committee (organizing Haj pilgrimages between for Indian Muslims visiting Mecca).
With or without political controversy, there is no doubt that faith-based tourism is a revenue-generator for India. With the policies in place & post-pandemic tourism drawing the numbers, it continues to develop into a more organized, full-fledged market.
Sites of religious significance
Due to its land area and socio-cultural history, it comes as no surprise that India has numerous temples, mosques, and churches. Pilgrim travel was always popular amongst all sections of the population, some events making the list of largest religious gatherings. Some of the sites that receive thousands of daily worshippers include the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Tirumala’s Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh, and the Jama Masjid in New Delhi. Most recently, the Ram temple in Ayodhya created a wave of new tourism in the northern part of the country.Longer holiday packages touring through religious sites have also been a standard offer within the travel agent market in India. In recent years, promoting domestic tourism was a key focus for the current government, specifically religious and adventure tourism. This worked well in unison because of the concentration of religious sites and socio-religious practices. Some common practices include going to the Venkateshwara Temple in Tirumala for tonsuring as an offering to celebrate a child’s first birthday, as is the estimated 20 million pilgrims celebrating the annual St. Mary’s Feast at the Velankanni’s Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health.
Limitations and efforts in boosting spiritual tourism
In recent years, there has been an improvement in infrastructure and facilities for tourists together with state governments and the center’s Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD). This was targeted towards the tier 3 and tier 4 cities that house a significant number of religious sites across the country. The travel routes to these destinations are most often designed in collaboration with the Indian Railways.While religious tourist routes or circuits have been identified and continue to be developed, the fact remains that religion is an integral aspect in India’s political climate. With a ruling party focused on nationalism, the traction in Hindu-focused centers was palpable over other minority centers. The most recent change adding to the list of political and religious contentions, were those in the Hajj committee (organizing Haj pilgrimages between for Indian Muslims visiting Mecca).
With or without political controversy, there is no doubt that faith-based tourism is a revenue-generator for India. With the policies in place & post-pandemic tourism drawing the numbers, it continues to develop into a more organized, full-fledged market.
