If you are constantly on the move, hunting for your next travel destination on social media, it's easy to believe that the whole country is travelling. But that's just the algorithm.
Domestic travel has picked up, especially after Covid. This may be true for many people, including readers of this column and me, but not everyone. The government's latest Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey, conducted between July 2025 and June 2026, provides a useful reality check.
Around 36% of Indian households reported taking at least one overnight trip during the previous year. They accounted for an estimated 100 million overnight journeys for leisure, healthcare, pilgrimage and shopping.
The data show that pilgrimage and medical trips far outnumber leisure travel. Nearly eight out of every ten overnight journeys were for these reasons, while leisure accounted for little more than one in five. In other words, when Indians pack their bags, they're usually travelling for a reason, not necessarily for a break.
Where You Stay Changes What You Travel For
Where people live matters as much as where they travel. Travel patterns vary not only by state, but also between rural and urban residents.
Religious travel looks similar across rural and urban India. The bigger differences show up elsewhere.
Leisure travel is far more common among people living in cities. Its share (36%) is nearly three times that in rural areas (13%). Medical travel shows the opposite pattern. It accounts for 38% of overnight trips in rural India, compared with 16% in urban areas. The survey does not explain why. But it seems straightforward. Cities usually have better medical facilities, so people in villages have little choice but to travel for it.
This national picture hides large differences across states.
Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh stand out for religious travel, with pilgrimages accounting for a large share of overnight trips. In parts of the Northeast, leisure takes centre stage. In Mizoram, nearly nine out of ten overnight trips are for recreation, the highest in the country.
Medical travel is also a different story. It is prominent in smaller states such as Tripura and Meghalaya. But the pattern is not limited to them. West Bengal and Kerala also record a substantial share of overnight trips for healthcare.
Note that this data reflects travel patterns of people living in each state, rather than trips taken to that state.
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How Long Indians Stay Away Depends on Why They Travel
So we know that Indians travel, and that many of those journeys are for religious purposes. But most are not long trips. Nearly two-thirds of overnight journeys last no more than three nights. That suggests India's travel market is built around short breaks rather than long vacations.
But the story changes once we look at who is travelling and why.
The rural-urban divide is clearest in business and social travel. Rural business trips show extreme patterns. Trips are often either overnight visits or stays of 10 nights or more. Urban business trips are more predictable, with most lasting two or three nights.
Social visits show a different pattern. Rural households are more likely to make short visits, while urban households account for a much larger share of long stays. Think attending a wedding for a few days or spending a month at your grandparents' house during summer vacation.
Leisure and pilgrimage trips follow a similar rhythm across both groups. Most are relatively short, with only modest differences between rural and urban India.
So, how long people stay away depends a lot on why they travel. A holiday or pilgrimage often fits into a few days. Business, social and education-related travel can stretch much longer.
Final Take
India's domestic travel market is broader. There's variety. And when we see this data, the perception of travel changes. The market is more than just holidays or long vacations. It is not a market that has typical tourists.
People travel for healthcare, religion, family, business and education, often leaving little room for leisure. Yes, Indians are on the move, but they aren't necessarily taking time off to chill. There's some purpose attached to it. This is key to understanding India's tourism industry.
Businesses must internalise these distinctions so that they can design their accommodation, transport and pricing around how people travel. The same lesson applies to policymakers. Improving travel does not always require big-ticket projects. Indians travel more often for many other reasons than for holidays. Better roads, cleaner facilities, reliable transport and basic amenities improve travel for locals and tourists alike. Sometimes, getting the basics right can make the biggest difference to how people experience travel.
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