India’s domestic travel landscape is not driven only by holidays, sightseeing and religious journeys. A recent government survey shows that health and medical needs are a major reason Indians travel within the country.
According to the Domestic Tourism Expenditure Survey 2025–26, around 30 out of every 100 domestic overnight trips were undertaken for health and medical purposes during the year.
Medical Travel Is the Second-Largest Purpose
Pilgrimage and religious travel remained the biggest category, accounting for nearly 48 out of every 100 overnight trips.
Health and medical travel followed, with roughly 30 out of 100 trips. Holidaying, leisure and recreation accounted for another major share of domestic overnight travel.
The figures show that travelling for healthcare has become an important part of India’s domestic mobility.
Rural India Records a Higher Share
The difference between rural and urban areas is particularly notable.
In rural India, 38.4% of overnight trips were related to health and medical purposes. The corresponding share in urban areas was considerably lower, at around 16.5%.
The gap suggests that people living in rural areas may need to travel farther from their usual place of residence to access specialised healthcare.
Medical Trips Are Also the Most Expensive
Healthcare-related travel also recorded the highest average expenditure among the major categories studied.
The average spending on health and medical trips was ₹29,454 in rural areas and ₹41,649 in urban areas. These figures relate to travel expenditure and do not include the cost of medical treatment itself.
This makes medical travel a significant financial consideration for households.
Where Are Indians Travelling?
The survey also provides a picture of domestic travel across states. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the largest share of visitor-trips at 15.7%, followed by Tamil Nadu at 13.4% and Rajasthan at 8%.
These figures cover visitors travelling within as well as outside their respective states.
Travel Patterns Differ Across India
Transportation choices also vary between rural and urban households. Buses accounted for the largest share of visitor-trips among rural households, while trains were the most commonly used mode among urban households.
The survey also found that around 80% of visitors stayed for five days or less, highlighting how many domestic trips are relatively short.
What the Numbers Reveal
The latest tourism data shows that domestic travel in India serves several purposes beyond recreation. Healthcare access is a major reason for people to leave their usual place of residence, particularly in rural areas.
The findings also underline the economic burden that can accompany medical journeys, where transportation and accommodation costs are added to the expense of treatment itself.
India’s Changing Domestic Travel Picture
India’s tourism story is often associated with beaches, hill stations, heritage sites and pilgrimage destinations. The latest survey adds another important dimension: people also travel because they need healthcare.
As medical facilities become increasingly concentrated in particular cities and regions, health-related travel is likely to remain an important part of India’s domestic travel patterns.