Pilgrimage travel across 56 destinations in India grew 19%

New Delhi: India's pilgrimage travel remains defined by short, purpose-driven stays, with accommodation bookings across 56 sacred destinations growing 19 per cent in FY24-25, MakeMyTrip said on Wednesday.

The Pilgrimage Travel Trends 2024-25 unveiled by the Gurugram-headquartered travel booking platform highlight a broad-based momentum, with strong growth in pilgrimage demand driving an aggressive expansion of accommodation supply across key destinations. Based on accommodation bookings as well as pilgrimage holiday packages sold on MakeMyTrip in FY24-25, the trends underscore how spiritual journeys are becoming a powerful driver of travel demand, across destinations such as Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Puri, Amritsar, and Tirupati, which continue to grow.

At the same time, places like Khatushyam Ji, Omkareshwar and Thiruchendur are also registering strong momentum, reflecting the widening canvas of spiritual travel in the country. Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said, "We are seeing steady growth (in pilgrimage travel), fuelled by stronger connectivity and Indians across all age groups and income segments planning pilgrimage-led trips". While most pilgrimage accommodation bookings (71 per cent) are for rooms priced below Rs4,500 per night, premiumisation is gaining clear momentum. In FY24-25, bookings for rooms in the Rs7,000-10,000 range grew by 24 per cent, while those above Rs10,000 grew by 23 per cent.

In parallel, alternate accommodation options such as home-stays and apartments have also gained traction, contributing nearly 10 per cent of room night bookings in pilgrimage destinations.