Pilgrimage destinations records by Cleartrip shows strong growth across flights, hotels, trains and buses, with solo women travellers emerging as an important segment
Spiritual and pilgrimage travel is emerging as a significant contributor to India’s domestic travel growth. Cleartrip’s PeekABoo Trends Tracker indicates that destinations associated with the Char Dham and Amarnath Yatra circuits have recorded some of the strongest booking growth this year across flights, hotels and buses.
Journeys of faith, once largely associated with families and older travellers, are increasingly attracting younger Indians and solo travellers, particularly women. Travellers are also using digital platforms to plan and book different stages of these journeys.
Solo travellers lead Amarnath Yatra bookings
Independent pilgrimage travel has emerged as a notable trend during the current season.
Flight bookings by solo women travellers during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra increased by 20% year-on-year. The pilgrimage also generated growth across other travel categories, with hotel bookings rising by 22% and bus bookings increasing by 104%.
Dwarka recorded a 37% increase in bookings by solo women travellers.
Char Dham Yatra records strong booking growth
Haridwar and Rishikesh, two important gateway cities for the Char Dham Yatra, recorded substantial booking growth across different modes of travel.
Hotel bookings in Haridwar increased by 161% year on year, while bus bookings rose by 203%. Rishikesh recorded a 113% increase in bus bookings.
Train bookings on routes serving the Char Dham corridor also grew during the period, highlighting the multi-modal nature of pilgrimage travel in India.
Most bookings for the circuit originated in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Festivals support demand across pilgrimage destinations
India’s religious and festival calendar continued to influence travel demand across several destinations.
Puri, which hosts the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra and the return Bahuda Yatra, recorded growth of more than 200% in hotel bookings.
Mathura, which attracts devotees during Guru Purnima and the Govardhan Parikrama, registered a 196% increase in hotel bookings.
Varanasi, which receives a large number of devotees during the holy month of Sawan and the Kanwar Yatra, recorded hotel booking growth of 161%.
Destinations with year-round spiritual significance also witnessed sustained demand. Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Haridwar, Udupi, Thanjavur, Thrissur, Gokarna and Tirupati recorded triple-digit growth across hotel and bus bookings.
Budget accommodation records the highest growth
Affordable accommodation remained the preferred category among travellers visiting pilgrimage destinations.
Budget hotel bookings registered the highest year-on-year growth at 386%. Mid-range hotel bookings increased by 164% during the same period.
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