Spirituality is fast emerging as one of the biggest drivers of India’s domestic travel market. From temple towns to yoga retreats, the country is seeing a new wave of journeys rooted in faith, wellness, and self-discovery. No longer confined to traditional pilgrimages, this shift is being shaped by younger travellers who are blending devotion with intention, and turning spiritual breaks into conscious lifestyle choices.
According to PeekABoo, Cleartrip’s travel trends tracker, nearly 60 percent of all domestic travel today is spiritual in nature. The category, spanning pilgrimages, wellness retreats, and spontaneous getaways is growing at a CAGR of 16.2 percent and is projected to become a $4.6 billion industry by 2033. Gen Z is emerging as a key force behind this shift, comprising 12 percent of total bookings with a year-on-year growth of 15 percent. Their behaviour shows a mix of impulse and planning - last-minute bookings are up 14 percent while advance planning has grown by 10 percent.
Top spiritual destinations include Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Dehradun, alongside pilgrimage hubs such as Prayagraj, which recorded a 110 percent surge due to the Maha Kumbh, and Amritsar, which grew 33 percent on the back of the Golden Temple’s draw. Other hotspots such as Udupi (+27 percent), Tirupati (+27 percent), and Lucknow (+28 percent) are also seeing steady traction.
“Over the past two years, spiritual travel has become one of the largest and fastest-growing segments for us. It's now a year-round phenomenon, not just tied to specific events. During our flagship annual summer event, Nation on Vacation (NoVac), we saw a remarkable 3.7x increase in bookings for destinations like Varanasi, Haridwar and Amritsar,” said Manjari Singhal, Chief Growth and Business Officer, Cleartrip. She added that this trend is cutting across all demographics, with new places like Varanasi, Dharamshala and Dwarka emerging as popular choices, even during the monsoon.
This growth isn’t limited to Cleartrip. Other platforms too are witnessing similar spikes.
This trend was echoed by Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, who highlighted the strong momentum in the spiritual travel segment. He noted that searches for religious destinations on the platform have risen by 46 percent in 2024 compared to 2022, with pilgrimage stays now contributing over 10 percent of total room night bookings. Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a key driver, with destinations like Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Prayagraj recording a surge of more than 60 percent in searches year-on-year. Other centers of faith, including Ujjain, Dwarka, Katra, Guruvayoor, and Amarnath, have also maintained consistent double-digit growth.
Magow shared, “We are seeing increasing participation of youngsters, alongside families choosing to explore spiritual destinations, not just for worship, but for the sense of connection, tradition, and meaning they offer. Improved connectivity and better infrastructure are making these journeys more accessible than ever, opening the doors for more Indians to experience the country’s rich spiritual heritage.”
The rising tide of spiritual travel is also reshaping how brands and advertisers allocate spends. Industry experts noted that rising Gen Z interest is prompting brands to allocate larger budgets toward promoting spiritual and culturally immersive destinations.
Sarabjit Singh Puri, Chairman, Fateh Rural Limited, said marketing spends linked to major religious gatherings have grown by 30–40 percent, with brand deals reportedly touching Rs 50 crore. He estimated that nearly 25–30 percent of experiential marketing budgets are now directed to this segment, especially during festival cycles and pilgrimage seasons.
OOH advertising is also gaining traction, with 25–30 percent of brand budgets now channelled toward spiritual destinations, according to Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-Founder & CMO, Vritti iMedia. Beyond advertising, brands are embedding themselves into the ecosystem, sponsoring sanitation and water booths at yatras or collaborating with local authorities to improve infrastructure - efforts that help build trust while enhancing traveller experience.
Radhakrishnan further noted that spiritual travel now forms a major share of domestic tourism, with Gen Z shaping the shift. Urban Gen Z treats pilgrimages as wellness-led getaways, prioritising clean eating, functional drinks, and mobile-first planning. Rural Gen Z is driving entrepreneurship through homestays, local services, and content creation that blends devotion with discovery.
As many spiritual hubs are in rural India, urban Gen Z is fueling local economies by traveling to these regions. Pilgrimages like the Kumbh Mela are increasingly immersive, content-driven, and digitally shared experiences. The surge in spiritual travel often peaks during major festivals such as the Maha Kumbh, as highlighted by ixigo and redBus. Dinesh Kumar Kotha, CEO, ixigo Trains & ConfirmTkt, said “the Maha Kumbh Mela this year was a prime example, where we saw a 4x surge in train bookings to Prayagraj, with solo travellers making up 60 percent of the total bookings.”
To cater to this influx, the platform launched a dedicated Maha Kumbh microsite offering booking support, itineraries, and local information. On-ground activations included a symbolic ixigo Trains-shaped sky balloon at the mela grounds, extensive branding across entry gates, hoardings, and railway stations in Uttar Pradesh, and high-visibility campaigns with brand ambassador Rohit Sharma to build stronger connect and recall among millions of pilgrims.
Echoing this momentum, Pallavi Chopra, CMO, redBus, said travel to spiritual destinations is a critical growth category for the platform in terms of both revenue and rider volumes, with demand amplified during large-scale religious gatherings. During Kumbh Mela 2025, redBus recorded a 36x surge in bookings to Prayagraj, while redRail registered 19x growth from Karnataka alone.
States like Bihar and Jharkhand saw bookings skyrocket by 500x, leading to the deployment of over 3,600 buses daily from across India to Prayagraj. Chopra added that beyond festivals, year-round demand to hubs such as Tirupati, Shirdi, and Varanasi ensures the category remains commercially strong and strategically significant. redBus noted that pilgrimage-focused creatives in state campaigns consistently drive the highest engagement, with spiritual travel now contributing about 7 percent of annual bookings. Key destinations include Varanasi, Tirupati, Shirdi, Puri, and Dwarka, while Tiruchendur saw 62 percent YoY growth and newer hubs like Gaya and Kainchi Dham are scaling fast. Data shows 78 percent of pilgrims preferred AC buses in FY25, and 46 percent booked on the same day - signaling premium choices and high-intent travel.
“This consistent demand has led to both marketing and supply-side interventions, including route planning in collaboration with operators based on real-me search data,” said Chopra.
Adding to this momentum is the rise of wellness-infused spiritual travel. Kerala’s Ayurveda retreats and Coimbatore’s Isha Yoga Centre are witnessing strong demand from travellers seeking not just devotion, but also detox, meditation, and balance.
Media Buys
With rising marketing spends around these hubs, media investments in these regions are also witnessing significant growth.
“The growth in regional and vernacular content spends is both strategic and exponential. Every two to three years, these budgets are doubling, especially around high-footfall festivals and pilgrimages,” said Radhakrishnan. He added, “brands have realised that localisation is no longer optional. Content that is dubbed or repurposed from urban campaigns simply does not resonate with today’s rural and semi-urban audience. Instead, platforms and messaging need to reflect local dialects, cultural nuances, and regional aspirations.”
According to him, transit hubs like state bus and railway stations, vital for pilgrim movement, are emerging as key advertising touchpoints, especially during festivals when traffic surges. Brands are leveraging contextual platforms such as LED-driven AV OOH in passenger information systems to engage travellers. While rural consumers seek mass personalisation that balances scale with emotional connect, Gen Z expects messaging that reflects their identity—nuclear, aspirational, digital-first, yet rooted.
Chopra said, “Our media mix has evolved to reflect the scale and nature of spiritual travel. Our campaigns now have assigned budgets for pilgrimage-led messaging, particularly in states with high spiritual footfall.”
For redBus, the campaigns prioritise regional-language content, spiritual TV channels like Aastha during events such as the Kumbh, and digital-first media including app notifications, location-based banners, and hyperlocal targeting. This approach was evident at Kumbh Mela 2025, where in-app modules and route discovery tools delivered strong real-time engagement.
Additionally, to connect with GenZ’s their campaigns position spiritual travel as intentional and experiential rather than purely religious.
“Going forward, we plan to scale these interactive, digital-led formats across future spiritual events to deepen our connection with younger, purpose-driven travellers,” Chopra added.
Cleartrip leverages major cultural moments like the Ram Temple inauguration and Maha Kumbh with initiatives such as #MahaKumbh and #CTDarshan coupon codes, positioning itself as part of the traveller’s journey rather than just a booking platform.
This year, the brand introduced “Explore Hotels by Vibe,” enabling younger travellers to pick stays based on the mood of their trip, catering to demand for self-discovery and personalised experiences.
Meanwhile, MakeMyTrip has introduced ‘Loved by Devotees,’ a curated collection of hotels and homestays across 50+ leading spiritual destinations. With growing demand for spiritual travel, the platform is leveraging technology to offer stays tailored for comfort, accessibility, and convenience, while continuing to expand offerings to make pilgrimages more seamless and enriching.
Puri further outlined the formats that resonate most with Gen Z. “From rural marketing and consumer behavior patterns, I have seen that short-form content and authentic, narrative-driven formats perform best. In spiritual travel, Gen Z gravitates toward short videos and social content—for example, pilgrim stories or visually rich glimpses of temple rituals shared via social platforms—triggering curiosity and emotional resonance,” he said.
Puri added that user-generated content, such as travel reflections and devotional stories enhances credibility and relatability, creating a sense of shared journey. While long-form content has its place, he concluded that in today’s attention economy, short, authentic, and impactful formats resonate most with youth.
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