Article
Transformation of Religious Tourism in India: A Secondary Data-Based Comparative Analysis of Multi-Faith Pilgrimage Destinations
Religious tourism has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of global tourism, reflecting the increasingly dynamic relationship between spirituality, culture, heritage, and travel. Contemporary scholarship suggests that the traditional distinction between pilgrims and tourists has become increasingly fluid, resulting in the evolution of religious tourism into a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing pilgrimage, heritage appreciation, cultural experiences, and destination development (Collins-Kreiner, 2020; Iliev, 2020). India, with its rich multi-faith heritage, hosts some of the world's most significant pilgrimage destinations and has witnessed substantial transformation in religious tourism through infrastructure development, heritage conservation, and destination revitalisation initiatives during recent years. Despite this growing importance, comparative evidence on the transformation of pilgrimage destinations across multiple faith traditions remains limited. This study addresses this gap by comparatively analysing nine pilgrimage destinations representing Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh traditions in India. The study is entirely based on authentic secondary data for the period 2018-2023 collected from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, India Tourism Statistics, PRASHAD and Swadesh Darshan scheme documents, state tourism departments, and peer-reviewed academic literature. Using descriptive, comparative, and documentary analysis, the study evaluates destination transformation across infrastructure, accessibility, visitor amenities, governance, digital initiatives, and sustainability. The findings indicate that while government-led interventions have significantly improved pilgrimage infrastructure and destination management, the scale and nature of transformation vary across destinations because of differences in governance, geographical context, institutional capacity, and heritage characteristics. The study contributes to religious tourism literature by providing an evidence-based multi-faith comparative assessment and offers policy recommendations for promoting sustainable and inclusive pilgrimage destination development in India.