Varanasi, Tirupati, Puri among top pilgrimage destinations in India: OYO

The report titled 'India's Treasure Trove of Cultural Travel 2022' said with over 3.5 times growth over the past year, Srinagar clocked highest growth in bookings among cultural destinations in 2022

Varanasi, Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Shirdi have emerged as the top pilgrimage destinations, according to a report by travel tech firm OYO.

The report titled 'India's Treasure Trove of Cultural Travel 2022' said with over 3.5 times growth over the past year, Srinagar clocked the highest growth in bookings among cultural destinations in 2022.

Besides Srinagar, Pahalgam and Jammu in J&K also ranked among the top cultural destinations in India, the report released on Monday said.

As per OYO's booking data analysed between January to April 2022, Srinagar, Pahalgam, Bodhgaya, Shirdi and Jammu are among India's top five cultural destinations in order of ranking.

"Varanasi, seen by many as the spiritual hub, tops the chart as the most popular pilgrimage destination in India in 2022. This is followed by Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Shirdi. Besides this, OYO's Mid-Summer Vacation Index also highlights keen consumer interest in visiting Vaishno Devi this summer," it said.

As per the report, when it comes to heritage sites, Ajanta & Ellora caves in Aurangabad and Taj Mahal in Agra were tied for the top spot. Hampi, Khajuraho and Mahabalipuram round up the balance of the top five heritage sites.

"Cultural tourism has always been a huge contributor to India's tourism economy. With an increase in domestic travel across India, people are looking forward to exploring rich cultural destinations over the past few years," Shreerang Godbole, SVP - Product & Chief Service Officer - OYO, said.