What is trending in travel For India?

What are Current Trends in Travel and Tourism in India?

Travelers are looking for hotspots that are popular, local, and connected to nature. Therefore, tourism industries are discovering various amenities and technologies to give the best experiences to travellers. 

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Here are some key current trends in travel and tourism in India as of August 2025—with insights drawn from recent developments and updates:

1. Spiritual & Heritage Tourism Booms

• Uttar Pradesh is seeing a major tourism push through heritage-sensitive development of religious circuits—Ramayana, Krishna, Buddhist, Shakti, and Jain—as pilgrimages and cultural heritage fuel economic and job growth.

• Mathura-Vrindavan is undergoing a ₹30,000 crore master plan focusing on infrastructure, water conservation, and heritage restoration to amplify its appeal as a global religious destination.

• Continued focus on religious circuits under the Swadesh Darshan scheme is driving tourism; for example, Jammu & Kashmir’s domestic and international tourism has surged dramatically with improved infrastructure.

• The Ramayana circuit is also being promoted via IRCTC’s tourist train linking key sites across India and Nepal.

2. Experiential, Event-Led & Offbeat Travel

• Indians increasingly seek experiential, event-driven travel, enjoying concerts, wildlife safaris, culinary tours, stargazing camps, polar cruises, and more.

• Gen Z is driving the trend toward offbeat destinations, preferring local homestays, immersive experiences, sustainability, and social-media-worthy locations.

• Travel media and experts emphasize hidden gems—places like Ziro Valley, Majuli, Spiti, and Meghalaya’s living root bridges are hot picks for travelers looking beyond mainstream destinations.

• “Bleisure” is gaining traction—combining business with leisure, travelers extend corporate trips to explore local experiences.

3. Wellness Tourism & Mindful Travel

• Wellness tourism, drawing on yoga, Ayurveda, and holistic healing in places like Kerala, Rishikesh, and the Himalayas, is booming—a reflection of growing demand for mind–body rejuvenation.

• Travelers are gravitating toward mindful travel, emphasizing sustainable choices, deeper cultural connections, and well-being, with many prioritizing longevity-oriented retreats over simple vacations.

4. Sustainability, Slow & Purpose-Driven Travel

• There’s increasing demand for eco-conscious and sustainable travel, with tourists selecting destinations and operators aligned with their environmental values.

• Slow travel, where visitors spend longer, immersive stays in rural or traditional settings—like Uttarakhand villages or homestays in Ladakh—is gaining popularity.

• Purpose-driven travel, such as conservation-focused trips or volunteer programs (e.g., “Pack for a Purpose”), is becoming more relevant.

5. Tech-Enabled Tourism

• The role of technology continues to expand: AI-driven trip planning, chatbots, virtual tours, AR/VR previews, and mobile-first bookings are becoming mainstream.

• AI and digital assistants now influence a large share of travel decisions, making personalization and automation key in planning and operations.

6. Rise in Domestic & Short-Haul Getaways

• Domestic tourism is surging, particularly for weekend getaways and staycations—61% of travelers visited nearby destinations in 2022, and that trend continues into 2025. Religious and cultural spots dominate demand.

• During long holiday weekends—like Independence Day—local spots such as Ranchi and nearby monsoon waterfalls have seen major traffic spikes with full bookings and revived interest in local experiences.

• Travel to Tamil Nadu has seen a fivefold revenue uplift in recent years, with domestic and foreign visitors exploring new attractions like the Keeladi Museum and sea bridges.

7. Infrastructure Expansion & Travel Services

• Major hotel chains like ITC Hotels plan to expand to over 220 properties by 2030, reflecting room demand growth.

• Taj Hotels (Indian Hotels) are also doubling properties to over 700 by 2030, fueling demand but raising concerns about rising tariffs → which may contribute to upsurge in outbound travel.

• India’s outbound tourism is also poised for growth—expected to hit USD 18.8 billion in 2024 and climbing to USD 55.4 billion by 2034, with strong interest in luxury, adventure, and culture abroad.

8. Adventure & Niche Travel Events

• Gujarat launched its first-ever Dharoi Adventure Fest (May–July 2025), offering water sports, aerial activities, stargazing camps, cultural performances, and tent-city stays—highlighting adventure tourism’s growing appeal.

Let's take a look at some of the other emerging travel trends.

1. Reconnecting 

Coming out of the lockdown after many months, people now are giving priority to their family and friends. According to the survey, people want to reconnect with their family members and prefer to travel with friends or family. Thus, Indian travellers are looking for travel experiences that can enable them to connect with their family while providing adventurous and comfortable travelling.

       2. Safety and Hygiene

After the COVID outbreak, safety and hygiene have become the major trends in the tourism industry. While making travelling decisions or booking accommodations, people now emphasize more on sanitization and cleanliness. Thus, travel industries are expected to facilitate social distancing, proper sanitization, compulsory mask protection, and other necessary actions to keep people safe.

       3. Solo Trips

One of the biggest and fast-emerging trends is solo trips. Every year, the number of people travelling alone are increasing drastically. Statistics show that solo travellers prefer adventurous trips that are close to nature. According to the recent data, 54% of travellers are now resorting to solo trips.

       4. No Contact Payments

The fear of touching many surfaces and coming in contact with numerous people has led to the new trend which is contactless payments. Various apps such as GooglePay, Paytm, PayPal have become the trend for cashless transactions. 

All contactless services right from ordering the food at restaurants, check-in at the airport, bill payments, ordering groceries, etc. have now become a new norm. This has made life easier by minimizing the use of cash and the risk of getting in touch with each other.  This in turn facilitates the travellers for better convenience and smooth payment transfers. 

      5. Virtual Reality

One of the most recent breakthrough trends in the travel industry is virtual reality. This technology will give a glimpse of their selected destination, enable them to see how will it look like, its major attractions, all through a digital experience. This will assure the travellers if their decision to choose the particular hotspot is correct and will further make the travelling convenient and comfortable.

      6.  Leisure Along with Work

More and more people are now opting for work trips with some leisure time. People sometimes extend their trip for some leisure activities such as sightseeing, hiking, relaxation, or partying. This trend has brought lot more benefits to travellers, businesses, and finally to the travel industry too.

Travellers can enjoy and destress after the hectic days of work. Since the employees will get leisure time along with work, more and more people will be keen to join the organization, which will further increase the organization's productivity. And, finally, the travel industry will make money if travellers will stay for a longer duration.  

     7. Travelling for Social Media

Recently, social media has become quite the rage. It has become an integral part of everyone's life. People now take their travel inspirations from social media. People take pictures while vacationing and share their experiences on social media.

There are many travel bloggers who post their stories, photos, and experiences on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, from which people take inspiration and plan their vacations. Thus, social media has become the biggest platform to promote and boost the travel and tourism industry.

     8. Travel in Nature Lap 

More and more people are now avoiding crowded places and choosing places for vacationing which are closer to nature. People want to get refreshed and rejuvenated in the lap of nature. Thus, local places such as hill stations and nature-connected areas have become the most sought-after hotspots. 

    9.  Luxurious Vacations

Travellers now prefer premium hotels, luxurious homestays, independent villas, Havelis for their vacations. They want comfort and luxurious experiences in such accommodations. 

   10. No Driver Transport

People want to avoid the hassles like waiting for the driver, rash driving, rude behavior, accidents. Thus, many transport companies are providing vehicles with wifi, GPS, automated controls, and sensors for a smooth driving experience.