Religious Travel Makes Up 48% of Domestic Overnight Trips.

According to a government poll published on Wednesday, pilgrimage and religious travel made up almost half of domestic overnight travel in India, with Uttar Pradesh emerging as the most popular destination.

According to the Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey, which was carried out by the National Statistics Office (NSO) between July 2025 and June 2026, pilgrimage and religious travel accounted for 48% of overnight travel over the 365-day reference period.

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, “the highest share of trips was reported for ‘pilgrimage & religious’ purposes (48%) by both sectors.”

Health and medical travel accounted for 38.4% of overnight trips, making it the second-largest category among rural households. At 36.4%, vacation, leisure, and recreation ranked as the second most popular reason for urban households.

Together with visitors from other states, Uttar Pradesh made for the largest percentage of all visitor-trips (15.7%). Rajasthan had an 8% stake, and Tamil Nadu had a 13.4% share.

The poll also revealed that, out of all the categories covered over the preceding 365 days, health and medical travel accounted for the most amount of spending. The average cost of these travels was Rs 41,649 for urban households and Rs 29,454 for rural households.

Transportation accounted for the biggest portion of expenses for vacation, leisure, and recreational travel. For rural households, transport accounted for 32.6% of non-package expenses, whereas for urban households, it was 37.3%.

India’s rural and urban populations had different travel inclinations. Trains were the most popular form of transportation among urban families (35%), while buses were the most popular mode of transportation among rural visitors (32%).

Thirty-six percent of urban overnight tourists stayed in hotels or guesthouses. Other non-commercial housing, such as second houses and free housing offered by religious or other organisations, accounted for the largest percentage (28%) in rural areas.

According to the survey, among rural tourist households, the number of overnight trips per 100 households reporting at least one such trip increased from 118 in 2014–15 to 127. It rose from 121 to 132 among urban tourist households.