Indian tourism landscape – A mix of spiritual & religious

Thursday, June 7, 2018

In Indian culture, spirituality is deeply entrenched to the very core. The whole nation is a destination of choice for the one who embark on a spiritual journey in terms of growth and enlightenment. When Beatles ventured Rishikesh, they put India on the world map in order to learn Transcendental Meditation at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in 1968. In today’s context, spiritual tourism is an emerging industry with travel companies and hotel chains beginning to identify its huge potential as well as opportunities.

 
Most often, spirituality is confused with religion. The words “spiritual” and “religion” are often being used interchangeably. In spiritual tourism, people travel to places to discover the meaning of life and achieve inner peace via self-realization and personal transformation; they may or may not adhere to a particular religion or faith. Rishikesh, McLeodganj, Varkala, Mount Arunachala, Auroville, Tiruvannamalai, Shirdi and Bodhgaya are some the places that people travel in terms of spiritual tourism in the country. On the other hand, religious tourism involves devotees travelling independently or in groups to embark on pilgrimages or visit temples and different worship places. There are organized practices and rituals that followers are anticipated to follow. Amritsar, Ajmer, Fatehpur Sikri, Goa, Velankanni, Fort Kochi, Srirangam, Tirupati, Rameswaram, Thanjavur, Varanasi and Puri, to name a few, are famous religious tourism places in the country.

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