Domestic tourism: Nearly 1 in 2 overnight trips in India are for pilgrimage, religious purposes  

Pilgrimage and religious travel emerged as the leading purpose of domestic overnight trips in India, accounting for 48% of such trips during the year ended June 2026, according to the Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

The survey, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) between July 2025 and June 2026 as part of the NSS 80th round, provides data on domestic overnight and same-day travel, including the purpose of trips, expenditure, transport and accommodation.

Among overnight trips completed during the last 365 days, pilgrimage and religious travel accounted for the highest share in both rural and urban areas. Health and medical travel was the second-largest category in rural areas, accounting for 38.4% of trips, while holidaying, leisure and recreation ranked second in urban areas with a 36.4% share.

The survey also showed that domestic travel remained relatively short in duration. The average trip size was 2.03 overnight visitors, while around 80% of visitors stayed for five days or less during their overnight trips.

Travel category/indicator	Key finding
Pilgrimage & religious	48% of overnight trips
Health & medical – rural	38.4% of overnight trips
Holidaying, leisure & recreation – urban	36.4% of overnight trips
Social trips – last 30 days	89% of overnight trips
Average overnight trip size	2.03 visitors
Trips of 5 days or less	Around 80% of visitors
UP share of visitor-trips	15.7%
Tamil Nadu share	13.4%
Rajasthan share	8.0%
Health & medical expenditure – rural	₹29,454 per trip
Health & medical expenditure – urban	₹41,649 per trip
Business trip expenditure – rural	₹5,179 per trip
Business trip expenditure – urban	₹6,934 per trip

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UP leads visitor-trips

Uttar Pradesh emerged as the state with the highest share of visitor-trips when visitors travelling both within and outside their home states were considered. It accounted for 15.7% of total visitor-trips, followed by Tamil Nadu at 13.4% and Rajasthan at 8%.

Travel patterns also differed between rural and urban households. Buses accounted for 32% of visitor-trips among rural households, making them the dominant mode of travel. Among urban households, trains were the most-used mode, accounting for 35% of visitor-trips for the relevant overnight travel category.

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Accommodation preferences also reflected the rural-urban divide. Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 36% of visitor-trips among urban overnight visitors, while non-commercial accommodation had the largest share in rural areas at 28%. This category includes stays at second homes, temporary accommodation provided by employers and accommodation provided free by religious or missionary organisations.

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Medical travel carries higher expenditure

While pilgrimage generated the largest share of overnight trips, health and medical travel recorded the highest expenditure among the major purposes covered by the survey.

Average expenditure for health and medical trips stood at ₹29,454 in rural areas and ₹41,649 in urban areas, including package and non-package components.

The survey also found distinct patterns in more recent travel. Among overnight trips completed during the last 30 days, social visits dominated, accounting for 89% of trips. Business trips, however, recorded the highest average expenditure, at ₹5,179 for rural households and ₹6,934 for urban households.

Same-day travel showed another pattern. Social and shopping trips were the two most frequently undertaken categories. Shopping accounted for the highest expenditure share, representing 51% of same-day trip expenditure in rural areas and 41% in urban areas.

The survey covered 2,46,113 households across 24,778 first-stage sampling units, providing a broad picture of how Indians travel, where they go and what they spend on domestic tourism.

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