Medical needs drive 30 of every 100 domestic overnight trips in India

Nearly 30 out of every 100 domestic overnight trips undertaken in India are for health and medical purposes, highlighting how access to treatment has become one of the biggest drivers of travel within the country, according to the latest Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey.

The nationwide survey, conducted by the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, covered the period from July 2025 to June 2026. Its findings show that domestic travel is driven not merely by holidays and leisure but, to a substantial extent, by essential needs such as healthcare and religious journeys.

Medical travel stands out

Pilgrimage and religious travel accounted for around 48 of every 100 overnight trips, making it the biggest travel purpose recorded by the survey. Health and medical journeys came next, accounting for around 30 of every 100 overnight trips.

The healthcare component was even more pronounced among rural households. Health and medical purposes accounted for 38.4 per cent of overnight trips in rural India, pointing to the considerable movement of people seeking diagnosis, treatment and other medical services away from their usual place of residence.

Treatment comes at a cost

Medical journeys were also the most expensive among the major categories captured by the survey. Rural households spent an average of Rs 29,454 on a health and medical trip, while the corresponding expenditure among urban households was considerably higher at Rs 41,649.

The figures include package and non-package expenditure and underline the financial burden associated with travelling for treatment. Unlike discretionary leisure travel, many such journeys cannot easily be postponed when specialised medical care is required.

Rural-urban divide

The survey found 127 overnight trips for every 100 rural tourist households, compared with 132 for every 100 urban tourist households. Urban travel patterns differed significantly, with holidays, leisure and recreation accounting for 36.4 per cent of overnight journeys.

Transport preferences also varied. Buses accounted for 32 per cent of visitor-trips among rural households, making them the most commonly used mode, while trains led among urban households with a 35 per cent share.

Short trips dominate

An average overnight trip involved 2.03 visitors, while around 80 per cent of visitors stayed for five days or less. May and October emerged as the busiest months for holiday, leisure and recreational travel.

Accommodation choices reflected another rural-urban difference. Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 36 per cent of visitor-trips among urban overnight travellers. In rural areas, non-commercial accommodation had the largest share at 28 per cent, including second homes, employer-provided accommodation and free stays offered by religious or missionary organisations.

UP draws most visitors

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest share of visitor-trips in the survey at 15.7 per cent, counting visitors travelling both from within and outside the state. Tamil Nadu followed with 13.4 per cent, while Rajasthan accounted for 8 per cent.

The findings broaden the conventional understanding of domestic tourism. While pilgrimage, holidays and social travel remain important, the scale and expense of health-related journeys show that a substantial part of India’s domestic movement is being driven by people travelling because they need medical care rather than simply taking a holiday.