The report said number of overnight trips generated per 100 households reporting at least one overnight trip was 127 per 100 rural tourist households | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Uttar Pradesh got maximum number of visitors coming for pilgrimage, shopping etc. from both within and outside the state as it recorded highest share in total visitor trips, Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey report by Statistics Ministry released on Wednesday said. 

The survey was conducted during July 2025 and June 2026 among over 2.46 lakh households all over the country except villages in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.  

“Combining visitors both from within the state and from other states, Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest share in total visitor-trips (15.7 per cent), followed by Tamil Nadu (13.4 per cent) and Rajasthan (8 per cent),” the report said.

Characteristics of visitors vary not only from one visitor to another visitor in the same trip but also from trip to trip. They were collected separately for each trip and for each trip-member during this survey. These include the visitor’s purpose, their mode of travel, place of stay, and type of trip (package or nonpackaged). A visitor’s purpose may be any of the eight purposes - (holidaying, leisure and recreation, pilgrimage & religious, health & medical and shopping, business, social, education & training and others) irrespective of the leading purpose of the trip. 

On other findings, the report said number of overnight trips generated per 100 households reporting at least one overnight trip (tourist household) during last 365 days was - 127 per 100 rural tourist households (118 per 100 rural tourist households in 2014-15) and 132 per 100 urban tourist households (121 per 100 urban tourist households in 2014-15). Both the sectors reported ‘pilgrimage & religious’ as the highest share with around 48 per cent followed by ‘health & medical’ purposes in rural areas and ‘holidaying, leisure & recreation’ in urban areas  

Around 80 per cent of visitors preferred to stay for 5 days or less during their respective overnight trips. May and October were the peak months for domestic overnight trips undertaken for holidaying, leisure and recreation purposes during the last 365 days.

Health & medical trips incurred maximum expenditure (including both package & nonpackaged components) in both rural areas ( ₹29,454) and urban ( ₹41,649) areas among all the trips completed during the reference period. Highest share of expenditure was reported on ‘transport’ component for overnight trips performed with the leading purpose ‘holidaying, leisure and recreation’.  

Published on September 23, 2026