India’s Pilgrimage Tourism Drives Growth with New Packages and Rising Premium Accommodation Demand

Published on September 15, 2025

Pilgrimage travel in India is seeing unprecedented growth, with MakeMyTrip revealing a 19% jump in accommodation reservations at 56 sacred destinations for FY24-25. This acceleration reflects a wider trend toward spiritual journeys, as venerable places like Varanasi and Amritsar continue to draw travellers while newer frontrunners, most notably Khatushyam Ji, emerge on pilgrims’ radars.

What’s becoming clear, say insiders, is that this subset is no longer a niche; pilgrimage is now a hefty pillar of national tourism. The same MakeMyTrip publication points to surging traveller volume and extended stays, underlining how visitors—both within India and its diaspora—are deliberately seeking faith-based experiences that resonate in an increasingly secular world. The country’s abundance of sacred options is a driver: holy cities defined by centuries of devotion, such as Varanasi’s river-lined ghats and Amritsar’s resplendent Golden Temple, retain their leading slots, while the newly built Khatushyam Ji is becoming a bright spot of substantial bookings.

Pilgrimage Tourism

Changing booking patterns among today’s pilgrims show a shift toward spontaneity. Reporting shows that close to two-thirds of all bookings for pilgrimage travel occur six days or fewer before the trip. Many pilgrims are deciding to set out for these sacred landmarks almost on a whim, reflecting a broader trend toward fluid, adaptable itineraries. Related insights reveal a steady appetite for group bookings. Almost half—47%—of pilgrim trips are secured as group travel. Journeying with family, prayer circles, or larger like-minded communities is woven into the experience, boosting requests for group rooms, ritual-led itineraries, and travel packages that reinforce communal spirit.

Concurrent data is telling a different side of the pilgrimage experience: a strong, emerging appetite for premium accommodation. Demand for rooms priced above ₹7,000 has surged more than 20% as comfort and modern touches become intrinsic to spiritual journeys. Guests expect inviting interiors, high-speed connectivity, and ergonomic facilities alongside daily puja, and Aloft rooms now often feature bespoke rituals delivered to the door. An ever-wider portfolio of three- to five-star hotels advertises private buses, curated darshan, and exclusive aarti slots. Pilgrims today are determined to combine convenience with pilgrimage purpose, and service providers are thoughtfully aligning offerings with this evolving traveller mindset.

New high-end accommodations are transforming the pilgrimage sector, attracting well-off visitors who prefer Five-Star comfort wrapped within their spiritual journeys. Closest to major holy sites, hotels and resorts are curating deluxe packages laden with the triple gifts of serenity—vegetarian menus, sunrise yoga, and discreet personal guides who know the landmarks and the language of karma.

In Indian pilgrimage, three cities presently guide this flow. Each illumines a class of devotee, persuading even the most indulgent of itineraries to pause.

Varanasi, the ageless cradle of benediction, enfolds both the prayerful and the pampered. Down the ghats, river-laving rituals contrast with the marble lobby of riverside palaces. A walk to the Kashi Vishwanath precinct, then a boat-for-two, molten chai ordered through an earbuds-long distance. Boarded boats drift; a spiritual seam between pilgrimage and pleasure. Individual stories are lit at twilight as scented star-flakes of incense trail from refined private aarti.

Amritsar narrates a refined, singular glow, the dairy-gold open door of the Golden Temple. Guests stewarded overnight beneath the reflected bowl of gilded water discover private langar balconies, cool marble pathways before the pink dawn. Daylight coils through generous kitchens serving the same humble stealth of blessings, receipts of vegetarian bounty paralleling the vows of tradition while the most tuned private intineraries box the replica tiles, star readers beyond the crowd graphs, avataresh and celebrations.

Khatushyam Ji: Relatively young on the pilgrimage circuit, Khatushyam Ji in Rajasthan has been attracting crowds in surprising numbers. Framed by dazzling fairs, the modest temple space resonates with vibrant energy, drawing sincere visitors who look for moments of calm away from the everyday noise. Reports note that the lanes leading to the shrine fill steadily a month before the annual mela, revealing a thirst for spiritual connection that far exceeds the monastic glow of the usually sleepy hamlet.

Tirupati: Climbing the wooded slopes of hills in Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati continues to embody the devotion poured out by millions for Lord Venkateswara. With arrivals that timer registers easily in multiples of the region’s breath, the Tirumala complex has long become a labyrinth of faith. Processions of long, intent queues plot across the terrace, while across winding paths, shops, guides, and nut vendors stand as vibrant counterpoints to thoughtful silence. Unlike the temple itself, the communal landscape around keeps multiplying, assuring the sleepy camera-in-hand newcomer, apprentice-board Verb nim, IDX navigates itself into good wall room arches its ethical and keeping itself from.

Rishikesh: Submerging feet first in the Ganges as both river and breathing space, Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh wears its title of “Yoga Capital of the World” with both commitment and cool confidence. Offering retreats on rippling asana terraces in the morning and river-quick forays by afternoon, it entices both seekers of the light and seekers of the thrill. Here, temple drumming and life-guard shout overlap above the murmurs, and the chanting doesn’t mind stretchy lycra as long as nobody breaks the gum. Indeed, for visitors, gentleness tastes first as a paddler slipping over a crown capsule and navigating into broader editing mode.

Economic Impact and Future Outlook

Increasing foot traffic is transforming erstwhile quiet villages into buzzing economic hubs. Hospitality staff, ranging from nuanced temple cooks to seasoned guides, report a jump in last-second room invasions, shared temples and a row of shiny alternative suites bursting from on-grey rock. Meanwhile, unexpected on-ground economies appear, evolving touristic and indulgent wilderness, and reflect behind softly worded order of frequenting the shrine.

With pilgrimage travel continuing its steady upward trajectory, India’s overall tourism industry is set to welcome larger numbers to this vital segment. Established shrines, along with lesser-known but culturally rich sites, are attracting attention, spurred by targeted initiatives from the Ministry of Tourism and corresponding state departments. Their concerted upgrading of transport, lodging, and overall amenities is broadening access and widening the appeal of India’s sacred landscape.

Conclusion: Pilgrimage Visit Remains Key to India’s Tourism Growth

Pilgrimage travel is rapidly establishing itself as one of India’s most vigorous tourism subsectors. A recent surge of 19% in lodging inquiries across 56 highly regarded sacred sites underlines the enduring draw of the country’s pilgrimage circuits. Visitors are now as eager to explore lived traditions and artistic heritage as they are to seek spiritual renewal. Rising demand for deluxe and boutique options, coupled with the steady unveiling of promising new circuits, confirms that pilgrimage travel will continue to shape the future of India’s broader tourism landscape.