Ayodhya has joined the list of growing temple towns of India that are recording a boom in tourism in the post-Covid phase driven by infrastructure development in these tourist spots.
Data indicates that the demand for spiritual journeys is no longer restricted to traditional pilgrimages but a combination of non-temporal breaks with unique local experiences and outdoor adventure, said Daniel D’Souza, president and country head, holidays, SOTC Travel.
"Spiritual travel includes whitewater rafting and night trekking in Vaishno Devi, Rameswaram, which is a hub for diving, bungee jumping in Rishikesh. Also, some other unique experiences include magnificent views of sunsets from the ghats; boating on the Ganges or exploring the weaver’s village in Varanasi; birding at Chilika Lake and visiting a heritage crafts village in Puri; learning a local art like Kalayaripayattu and authentic local food trails in Kerala," he said.
He added that the pandemic had changed traveller perceptions, resulting in the growth of spiritual tourism.
Also read: Travel demand, hotel bookings surge in Ayodhya ahead of Ram temple inauguration
Infra push
"Any catastrophe brings in the element of spirituality. But this time around what is different is that the religious places which did not have the right infrastructure now have significant infrastructure built up. The Char Dham pilgrimage in 2019 recorded 34 lakh tourists. While 2020-2021 was muted because of the pandemic, in 2022 the place registered 35.2 lakh visitors and in 2023 the visitor count went up to 56.1 lakh. Road infrastructure has seen significant development. For instance, the road from Ahmedabad to Shrinathji Temple in Nathdwara is so smooth, it is now a 6-7 hour drive and during long weekends, people flock over there," said Atul Thakkar, director, investment banking, Anand Rathi Advisors Ltd, who the travel industry.
"Amarnath in 2022 recorded 3 lakh pilgrims which in 2023 jumped to 4.3 lakh visitors. Goa had some 85 lakh tourists visit the place in 2023 while total visitors in 2023 to Tirupati was over 3 crore," he added, reinforcing his point about growing traffic.
There has been a notable improvement in accommodation facilities at temple towns as corporate hotel brands are now establishing their presence in these locations, said Alok K Singh, co-founder and CEO, Travomint.
"Ten years ago, most spiritual tourist destinations had guest houses, places run by charities where the stay was cheap but they were not hygienic. But now all the large pilgrim places are surrounded by quality hotels and this will add to the tourism because now people have the ability to pay and want the same comfort in a temple town as that they get in leisure tourism," said Thakkar.
Also read: Ram Mandir consecration: Ayodhya gears up for green pilgrimage with e-cars for public transport
He added that temple towns have doubled the keys from 2015 to 2023 from around 2,300 in 2015 to 7,500 in FY23. Keys refer to individual lodging units. The occupancy levels in these places is around 60 percent including Puri, Varanasi and Ujjain, he said. "Puri has 30 percent of the keys (referred to an individual lodging unit) of the entire Orissa. Average room rent was from Rs 2,000-6,000 including organised and unorganised players in FY23 and it is expected to go up to Rs 7,000-9,000 in 2025," Thakkar said.
In the top 30 spiritual markets in India, an increase of 10 percent in the occupancy is expected in 2024, said Nandivardhan Jain, CEO, Noesis Hotel Advisory Redefined.
Boost in spiritual tourism
Thakkar said that while the entire India tourism market is estimated to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8 percent, spiritual tourism will grow 9-10 percent for next five to seven years. "The spiritual tourism market in FY23 stood at around $56 billion from $44 billion in 2020. In a place like India this will continue to hold the lion’s share of over 35-40 percent for a long time. The large chunk of recovery post-Covid has come from spiritual tourism. and this segment will have higher value like luxury tourism when hotel infrastructure develops in these destinations," he added.
The growth of spiritual tourism as a segment has been noteworthy, particularly in the post-pandemic era, with a significant increase of 62 percent in bookings, said Prahlad Krishnamurthi, chief business officer, Cleartrip. "There has been a 1.6x spike in segments in places renowned for spiritual tourism, including Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Tirupati, Dehradun and Trivandrum," he said.
Also read: Cabinet approves naming Ayodhya airport after Maharishi Valmiki; gives intl airport status
Spiritual tourism accounted for only 4 percent of the total cities listed on the platform but contributed to over 12 percent of overall transactions, underscoring its importance, said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip.
Rajeev Kale, president and country head, holidays, MICE, visa at Thomas Cook India, said that they are witnessing a significant uptick in demand for spiritual tourism of over 120 percent versus pre-pandemic days.
While tourism with religious overtones was once associated with the senior citizen segment, over the past two years there has been a significant rise in demand from multigenerational families, couples, groups of friends, millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) as well, said D’Souza of SOTC Travel.
Noesis' Jain pointed out that temple towns can also promote themselves as wedding destinations. "There is a significant opportunity to position these destinations as premium wedding locations. Ujjain serves as a prime example where the top three resorts and hotels have tapped into the wedding business, alongside catering to individual travellers. On average, an upper midscale resort with 100 rooms and extensive banqueting facilities holds the potential to generate an annualised business of Rs 30 crore in Ujjain, underlining the lucrative prospects within this evolving market," said Jain.
The government has been focusing on the growth of such places under the PRASAD or Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive Scheme.
Ayodhya to accelerate growth
"This effort has led to a transformation in Varanasi's tourism sector, primarily driven by the revitalised Kashi Vishwanath corridor. Since its opening in December 2021, Kashi Vishwanath Dham has attracted 100 million visitors. In contrast, the number of visitors had previously been a mere 8 million before the renovations. Similarly, it is anticipated that with the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in 2024, and with the recent launch of the new Ayodhya airport, the city may attract similar footfalls of visitors," said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and group CEO, Ixigo.
Ayodhya is poised to become one of the major spiritual destinations of India, said Magow of MakeMyTrip.
"There is a 5x upside in searches year-on-year and there are 4x more bookings as compared to last year for Ayodhya. At the moment, room night bookings in Ayodhya are almost 10 percent of the top pilgrimage sites in the country so the potential for growth is significant," he added.
Ayodhya hotels are fully booked and occupancy is ranging from 80 to 100 percent, resulting in substantial price hikes, reaching up to Rs 50,000- 70,000 per night in select hotels, said Kirti Singhal, owner of Chalo Ghumne, a travel agency.
"There are a host of new hotels and homestays coming up and getting listed in the area, and the supply is ramping up expeditiously," Magow said.
Clearly, there is still room for growth.
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