Key Details
The Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey (July 2025–June 2026) measured overnight trips in two purpose groups with different recall periods, alongside same-day travel. The National Statistics Office surveyed 2,46,113 households across India.
Travel Covered | Principal Finding |
|---|---|
Overnight trips for pilgrimage, medical care, leisure or shopping; previous 365 days | Pilgrimage and religious travel: 48% of trips; medical travel: 30% |
Overnight trips for social, business, education or other purposes; previous 30 days | Social visits: 89% of trips |
Highest average household spending per overnight trip | Medical: ₹29,454 rural and ₹41,649 urban in the 365-day group; business: ₹5,179 rural and ₹6,934 urban in the 30-day group |
Same-day trips; previous 30 days | At least one trip made by 65.1% of rural and 46.2% of urban households |
Pilgrimage Leads One Overnight-Trip Group
For overnight trips recorded over the previous year for pilgrimage, medical care, leisure and shopping, pilgrimage and religious travel accounted for nearly half. Medical trips were the next-largest category overall, but the pattern differed by residence: medical travel ranked second in rural areas, while leisure ranked second in urban areas.
Uttar Pradesh received the largest share of visitor-trips in this group (15.7%), followed by Tamil Nadu (13.4%) and Rajasthan (8.0%). These are shares of trips by main destination, not shares of all tourism spending.
Social Visits Dominate a Separate Group; Spending Tells Another Story
The survey used a 30-day recall period for overnight trips undertaken for social, business, education and other purposes. Social visits accounted for 89% of trips in this group. Friends’ and relatives’ homes were the main form of accommodation, and buses were the most-used mode of travel in both rural and urban areas.
Trip frequency did not determine spending. Business trips had the highest average household expenditure in this group. In the 365-day group, medical trips were the costliest. Because the groups cover different purposes and recall periods, the survey does not establish a single spending ranking across all overnight travel.
Same-Day Travel Is Widespread and Its Spending Pattern Differs
In the previous 30 days, 65.1% of rural households and 46.2% of urban households made at least one same-day trip, up from 57.1% and 40.6%, respectively, in the 2014–15 survey figures cited by MoSPI. Social visits and shopping were the most frequent purposes.
Shopping-purpose trips generated the highest expenditure among same-day trip purposes. Separately, shopping as an expense item accounted for 51% of rural and 41% of urban same-day trip spending. The distinction matters: one measure describes why people travelled; the other describes what they spent money on.
The survey also records transport, accommodation and trip duration, providing evidence for the Ministry of Tourism’s Tourism Satellite Account, which measures tourism’s contribution to the economy.
Policy Relevance
The survey helps planners distinguish high-volume travel from high-cost travel, and overnight visitors from people making same-day trips.
Pilgrimage destinations: The large share of religious trips makes transport, accommodation and visitor facilities important planning questions. Destination-level figures are needed to identify where capacity is most stretched.
Medical travel: High spending per trip points to the cost of travelling for care. Data on where patients travel and what they pay would help health and transport authorities assess access barriers.
Rural and urban travel: Differences in transport and accommodation — and the prevalence of same-day trips — argue for plans based on local travel patterns, not overnight visitor counts alone.
Follow the Full Report Here: Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey, July 2025–June 2026