Faith-based travel has long powered India’s domestic movement, but the sector is now moving beyond sheer footfall. According to KPMG’s Sacred Journeys report, Hindu pilgrimage spending totals roughly INR 4.74 lakh crore annually, while about 60% of all domestic trips are linked to religion.
From ritual to experience-focused journeys
Aalap Bansal, partner at KPMG India, says the market is shifting from “ritual-led travel to experience-led journeys.” Travelers increasingly seek cultural immersion, wellness, heritage storytelling and community engagement alongside their faith.
Destinations once seen as single-purpose stops—such as Varanasi, Ayodhya, Rishikesh and Bodh Gaya—are being rebranded as “integrated tourism ecosystems.” Hospitality, transport, retail and digital services now cluster around temple sites, creating longer stays and higher spend.
Krishna Mohan Alapati, managing director of Southern Travels, notes that pilgrimage packages have broadened to include spirituality, wellness and meaningful experiences. He adds that modern pilgrims want better rooms, smoother transport and itineraries that feel like a cohesive trip rather than a checklist.
Gen Z now accounts for 53% of spiritual-travel bookings, according to redBus research cited in the KPMG report. Younger travelers blend temple visits with adventure, local cuisine and content-worthy moments, reshaping demand patterns.
While footfall at Varanasi rose from roughly 7.1 crore in 2022 to more than 11 crore in 2024, the real change lies in who is booking. Santosh Kumar of Booking.com observes that younger family members are planning trips for parents and grandparents, forcing operators to craft multi-generational itineraries.
In my view, this mirrors the evolution seen in heritage tourism elsewhere, where younger visitors demand immersive, multi-day experiences rather than brief sight-seeing stops. The shift suggests that the economic impact will stem from extended stays and diversified spending, not just visitor counts.
Premium lodging and multi-stop circuits
Accommodation bookings in spiritual hubs grew 19% in FY 2024-25, with premium rooms up over 20%. Booking.com research shows that 62% of Indian travelers feel spiritual destinations still lack sufficient premium lodging.
Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd.’s chairman, Chander Baljee, reports that his brand has opened properties in Tirupati, Rishikesh, Kedarnath and Haridwar, targeting guests who seek comfort, safety and personalized service.
Operators are also bundling sites into circuits. Alapati cites Jyotirlinga routes linking Ujjain and Omkareshwar, and Krishna-linked trails covering Mathura, Vrindavan and Dwarka. Such packages keep tourists, and their spending, within a region for several days.
The Buddhist trail illustrates the potential: foreign arrivals to Uttar Pradesh’s Buddhist sites rose from around 48,000 in 2022 to a reported 4.4 lakh in 2025, according to state figures.
Uttar Pradesh’s tourism policy offers capital subsidies of up to 30% for eligible projects, and the state has already certified proposals worth more than INR 41,500 crore. Under this framework, Ayodhya is projected to approach 30 crore visits in 2025, while Prayagraj’s Mahakumbh attracted an estimated 66 crore devotees that year.
Infrastructure and policy support
State initiatives are channeling funds toward road upgrades, parking expansions and digital signage at major shrines. These improvements aim to ease congestion during peak festivals.
Tourism authorities have introduced waivers on stamp duty and streamlined land-conversion procedures, encouraging private developers to invest in new hospitality projects.
A homestay scheme launched recently has recorded registrations for nearly nine hundred properties, moving toward a goal of five thousand homes that can host pilgrims.
Beyond lodging, governments are funding clean-water projects and waste-management systems to protect riverbanks that attract large crowds of devotees.
Emerging circuit models and service upgrades
Travel operators are designing itineraries that link multiple sacred sites, allowing visitors to experience a broader spiritual narrative within a single trip.
To address this gap, developers are converting heritage buildings into boutique hotels, preserving local architecture while delivering modern comforts.
Marketing agencies are focusing on digital platforms that showcase circuit packages, positioning them as complete journeys rather than isolated visits.
Efforts to improve visitor experience also include real-time crowd monitoring and mobile applications that provide navigation assistance and safety alerts during high-traffic periods.
Overall, the sector is shifting from measuring success solely by headcount to tracking metrics such as average length of stay, per-capita spend, repeat visitation and employment generated in host communities.