TravTalk India Online Magazine
Religious tourism in India is witnessing a remarkable surge, with travellers — especially seniors and families — opting for visits to sacred destinations. From air travel to specialised pilgrimage packages, the sector is evolving to cater to devotees who are often high-spending travellers, proving that faith and comfort can go hand in hand. TRAVTALK speaks with stakeholders.
Hazel Jain
Religious tourism has transitioned into a key revenue stream for the tourism and hospitality industry. Spiritual sites are turning lucrative for travel companies. While some may call it paradoxical — where historically pilgrimage is meant to be about hardship — today’s traveller does not mind a little more comfort while seeking deliverance. This tourism segment has suddenly become appealing not only to tour operators, but also to hotels and airlines. It may pay to follow this trend and gradually upsell, particularly when it comes to the Indian diaspora.
Arjun Baljee, Founder, Iconiqa & President Royal Orchid Hotels
We have seen consistent demand for key spiritual destinations, such as Rishikesh, Kedarnath, Haridwar, Amritsar, Ajmer, Puri and Dwarka. Guests visiting these locations are often on multi-destination pilgrim circuits.
SD Nandakumar, President & Country Head – Corporate Tours, SOTC Travel
Spiritual tourism has evolved into a key category. We are seeing strong demand across our Darshans portfolio, with key destinations like Char Dham and Kailash Mansarovar ranking on top. We are also seeing traction for spiritual circuits.
Dharmendra Singh Chauhan, Chairman, ADTOI Maharashtra Chapter
This is a big segment for me. Last financial year, we did almost 70 per cent religious tours. Such clients mostly come for Jyotirlinga with Shirdi, Somnath, Dwarka and Nageswar, and Ayodhya with Varanasi and Prayagraj.
Manoj Chacko, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, FLY91
We have seen an uptick in bookings during religious events, such as Ganesh festival and the Pandharpur Wari in Maharashtra, the feast of St Francis Xavier and Christmas in Goa. Religious tourism is an important segment.
Sanjay Jadoun, CEO, YoloBus
We are witnessing a surge in demand for routes on key southern religious destinations, such as Tirupati, Madurai and Rameswaram. We are operating 25 services on the routes and have announced plans to introduce 10 more soon.
