30 Out Of Every 100 Domestic Trips In India Are For Treatment, Not Tourism

Medical travel was a major reason for domestic overnight trips in India in the past one year, with about 30 out of every 100 trips made for health and medical purposes, according to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. In rural areas, health and medical trips made up 38.4% out of every 100 trips.

“Around 48 trips out of 100 overnight trips were performed for ‘pilgrimage & religious' purposes followed by 30 trips for ‘health & medical' purposes for overnight trips completed during the last 365 days,” the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation revealed in a press release.

The information was compiled as part of the Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey (DTES), which is conducted by the National Statistics Office. As per the survey, Health and medical trips were the most expensive in India, with average expenditure of Rs 29,454 in rural areas and Rs 41,649 in urban areas.

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Other Findings:

The survey found 127 trips per 100 rural tourist households and 132 per 100 urban households. In urban areas, holidaying, leisure and recreation accounted for 36.4% of overnight trips. 

As per the survey, the average overnight trip had 2.03 visitors. It was also found out that around 80% of visitors stayed for five days or less. May and October saw the most holiday, leisure and recreation trips. 

The survey also captured details about the mode of transportation, noting that for rural households, buses were the most common mode. They accounted for 32% of visitor-trips. Among urban households, trains were the most used, with a 35% share.

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On accommodation preferences, it said: “Among urban overnight visitors, hotels and guesthouses were the most preferred type of stay, accounting for 36% share in visitor-trips. In rural areas, other non-commercial stays accounted for the largest share (28%) which included stays in one's own vacation home (second home), temporary accommodation provided by employers, accommodation provided by religious or missionary organisations free of charge, etc.”

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest share of total visitor-trips at 15.7%. This data included visitors from within and outside the state. It was followed by Tamil Nadu at 13.4% and Rajasthan at 8%.