The travel and tourism industry is slowly regaining its glory after the two-year Pandemic break. And it’s interesting to see that spiritual destinations are most popular among Indian travelers. With the increasing demand for religious destinations, numerous resort chains and hoteliers are eager to expand their pipeline to similar travel locations. According to Rikant Pittie, who is the co-founder of EaseMyTrip, places like Varanasi, Mathura, Tirupati, Madurai, Amritsar, and Katra have already seen a 20-30 percent rise in bookings since the pandemic and as per expectations, the percentage is sure to make a massive growth in the upcoming months.
There Is A Post Pandemic Surge In The Number Of People Travelling To Religious Destinations
An ET report recently quoted the EaseMyTrip co-founder Rikant Pittie saying, “It is expected that bookings for destinations such as Varanasi, Mathura, Tirupati, Madurai, Amritsar, and Katra will increase in the coming months. Post pandemic, the travel industry has seen a major rise in the number of people who are traveling to these religious places. Places like Varanasi, Mathura, Tirupati, Madurai, Amritsar, and Katra have seen a 20-30% increase in bookings since the pandemic.”
The ET report further revealed how the travel search engine KAYAK has Tirupati topping the trending list in terms of flight searches during Ganesh Chaturthi with an increase of 477%. Varanasi followed with a 411% increase.
Religious Tourism Has Always Been Contributing Massively To India’s Tourism Industry
Sources say that touring religious destinations or holy sites has always been one of the oldest forms of travel in India. According to the data of the UNWTO, 300-400 million global tourists traveled every year for religious purposes before Covid-19. It’s no secret that religious tourism has been significantly contributing to India’s tourism industry. And after the Pandemic, there are reports of a surge in travel in the same sector. As per reports, religious places like Katra, Amritsar, Dwarka, Uttarakhand, Varanasi, and Tirupati among many others are expected to draw more visitors than other popular tourist destinations in the country. No doubt hoteliers are expecting an increase in bookings in the upcoming months. ET quoted Deepak Jain, founding father of Mayfair Consultants which specializes in resort, restaurant, and actual property consulting, saying, “Ajmer, Mathura, Rishikesh, Vaishnodevi, and Tirupati are attracting consideration. Occupancies have proven a big upside, particularly for branded resorts with the easing of Covid restrictions.”
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