Spiritual travel in India is witnessing unprecedented growth, with pilgrimage destinations now accounting for over 10% of MakeMyTrip’s total room night bookings in Q3 FY25. Searches for religious destinations on the platform have surged by 46% in 2024 as compared to 2022, highlighting a growing preference among travelers for journeys that are deeply meaningful and spiritually enriching distinct from leisure travel.
Rooted in faith and tradition, these pilgrimages often involve families with a higher percentage of elderly members, making it essential to find the perfect stay with facilities tailored to their needs. To simplify the identification of the stay, MakeMyTrip has introduced ‘Loved by Devotees’, a curated collection of 450+ hotels and homestays across 26 leading spiritual destinations. This initiative aims to take the guesswork out of planning spiritual journeys and ensure that travelers find stays that meet their specific needs for comfort, accessibility, and convenience.
Speaking about the development, Ankit Khanna, Chief Product Officer – Hotel, Growth & Emerging Businesses, said, “Getting to India’s spiritual destinations is easier than ever with better roads, rail, and air connectivity. ‘Loved by Devotees’ ensures that the stay offers amenities that meet the specific needs of spiritual travelers. Developed using real traveler insights and technology, it helps travelers find the perfect stay. The goal is simple—to remove the stress of planning so devotees can focus on what truly matters—their faith and experience.”
The ‘Loved by Devotees’ feature evaluates properties based on six key criteria: proximity to the sacred place for worship, accessibility from transit points such as airports, railways, and bus stations, availability of pure vegetarian restaurants, parking facilities, travel desk support, and elderly-friendly amenities like wheelchair assistance, doctor-on-call, lifts, and first-aid kits. Additionally, only accommodations with a user rating of 3.5 or higher on MakeMyTrip are included, ensuring a high standard of quality and reliability.
The initiative currently covers 26 of India’s most sought-after spiritual destinations including Ajmer, Amritsar, Ayodhya, Deoghar, Dwarka, Guruvayoor, Haridwar, Katra, Kukke Subramanya, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Mathura, Nathdwara, Prayagraj, Puri, Rameshwaram, Shirdi, Somnath, Thanjavur, Thiruvannamalai, Thrissur, Tirupati, Udupi, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Vrindavan.
Travelers can easily access ‘Loved by Devotees’ accommodations by looking for the dedicated tag on the MakeMyTrip app and website. Each listing provides transparent details on amenities, location, and accessibility, helping travelers make informed choices. The feature will continue to expand, with more destinations and accommodations being added to make spiritual travel even simpler in the coming months.