India is so different than Western countries like the USA, so it’s easy to see why it draws millions of tourists each year. It’s difficult to understand the primary motivations of tourists though!
Why Is India A Popular Tourist Destination? According to the Indian Statistical Institute, 50% of foreign tourists list “monuments, forts, palaces, museums” as their main motivation for traveling to India. Other six most popular reasons are religious places, scenic places, medical treatment, yoga, and spiritual healing.
In 2010-2011, the Ministry of Tourism commissioned a study looking at the Motivational Factors Of Visiting India. While the study admits it is difficult to understand all the motivations, by surveying and interviewing tourists at exit points across India it did shed some insight into why over 10 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2018.
I figured most tourists would visit India for yoga or meditation retreats, or maybe to chill on a beach in Goa, so I was surprised by the findings of this detailed study. If you’re also curious about why tourists visit India, here’s an overview (I cut out MOST of the boring parts 🤓).
What Is The Main Reason Tourists Visit India?
To start the study, tourists were asked for the general motivations for visiting India… similar to the common question, “business or pleasure?”
Most inbound foreign tourists were coming to India for some rest and relaxation. Not far behind are the business travelers. But then there’s a steep drop off with the other reasons:
| Purpose of Traveling To India | % of Foreign Nationals |
| Leisure | 36.8 |
| Business | 31.1 |
| Social | 13.7 |
| Health & medical | 6.2 |
| Education & training | 3.8 |
| Religious | 3.7 |
| Jobs on foreign deputation | 1.7 |
| Others | 1.3 |
| Invited by India on specific assignment | 1.2 |
| Games & sports | 0.3 |
| Shopping | 0.2 |
| Total | 100 |
What Are The Specific Reasons People Visit India?
To figure out more specific motivations, the tourists were asked to rate their top five reasons for visiting India from this list:
- Monuments, forts, palaces, museum
- Hill stations
- Religious places
- Medical treatment, yoga, meditation
- Wildlife
- Fairs & festivals, theme parks
- Adventure places
- Shopping
- Visiting relatives
- Others (to be specified)
Only four of these reasons received a significant amount of responses though:
- Monuments, forts, palaces, museum
- Hill stations
- Religious places
- Medical treatment, yoga, meditation
In the rest of the article, the rest of the responses were grouped together under “Other.”
What Are The Top 5 Reasons Foreign Nationals Travel To India?
The tourists were asked to rank their top 5 reasons for visiting India, and there was a clear winner: Monuments, forts, palaces, museums
Check out the results below: A ranking of 1 would mean it’s their main reason for visiting India. A ranking of 5 would mean it’s their fifth most important reason:
| Reasons Foreign Nationals Travel To India: Ranked | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Monuments, forts, palaces, museums | 70.8% | 77.1% | 72% | 79.5% | 76.5% |
| Hill stations, mountains, beaches, scenic places | 7.5% | 12% | 11.2% | 10.9% | 14.9% |
| Religious places | 7.9% | 5.7% | 11.4% | 7.9% | 4.6% |
| Medical treatment, yoga, meditation & spiritual healing | 3.7% | 0.5% | 1.9% | 0.3% | 2.4% |
| Others | 10.1% | 4.7% | 3.5% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
It’s clear that going to see monuments, forts, palaces, and museums is the main reason why tourists flock to India. Over 70% of tourists listed this selection as their top choice across the board. None of the other selections even came close.
But visiting scenic places like hill stations, mountains and beaches is also a significant draw. Visiting religious places also gets a large number of tourists.
I do think it was a mistake to group medical treatment with yoga, meditation and spiritual healing, since this seems like two different motivations. Yoga, meditation and spiritual healing seem more aligned with visiting religious places to me. While medical tourism is a popular reason and should be by itself.
Another way to look at the data is by comparing all of the selections for each answer. For instance, below we can see that out of all the rankings for monuments, forts, palaces, museums, 47.2% of respondents chose it as their #1 reason.
| Reasons Foreign Nationals Travel To India: Ranked | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total |
| Monuments, forts, palaces, museum | 47.20% | 24.40% | 12.30% | 9% | 7.20% | 100% |
| Hill stations, mountains, beaches, scenic places | 37.60% | 28.40% | 14.30% | 9.20% | 10.40% | 100% |
| Religious places | 50.80% | 17.60% | 18.80% | 8.70% | 4.20% | 100% |
| Medical treatment, yoga, meditation & spiritual healing | 76.50% | 5.30% | 10% | 1.10% | 7.10% | 100% |
| Others | 73.90% | 16.20% | 6.60% | 1.70% | 1.60% | 100% |
Therefore, this data is suggesting that:
- People who choose medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing feel strongly about it... 76.5% of them choose it as their main motivation meaning they feel strongly about it.
- People feel less strongly about visiting religious places… 50.8% of people who chose it as a top 5 motivation listed it as their main motivation.
- People feel a bit less strongly about visiting monuments, forts, palaces, museums… a bit less at 47% selected it as their main motivation.
- People feel even less strongly about visiting scenic places like hill stations, mountains and beaches… 37.6% chose it as their main motivation.
- People also feel strongly about less popular answers such as wildlife or shopping… 73.9% chose it as their primary motivation.
What Are The Differences in Motivation By Age Group?
The study then looked at the data from another angle: age. Each ranking was weighted, so a 1 gets 5 points and a ranking of 5 would get 1 point. Then the points were averaged for each selection.
Therefore the highest point value would be 5 and would indicate it is a stronger motivation. The lowest point value would be 1 and would indicate the least strong motivation.
If we look at the rankings based on age group, a few other conclusions jump out at us:
| Ranking of Motivations Based On Age | Monuments, Forts, Palaces, Museums | Hill stations, mountains, beaches, scenic places | Religious places | Medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing | Other |
| 18-24 yrs | 3.87 | 3.71 | 4.45 | 3.79 | 4.24 |
| 25-34 yrs | 3.95 | 3.69 | 3.88 | 3.95 | 4.66 |
| 35-44 yrs | 3.98 | 3.65 | 4.02 | 4.75 | 4.77 |
| 45-54 yrs | 3.92 | 3.88 | 4.04 | 4.84 | 4.67 |
| 55-64 yrs a | 4.01 | 3.72 | 3.88 | 3.96 | 3.94 |
| above 65 yrs | 4.15 | 3.73 | 4.77 | 4.98 | 4.07 |
18-24-year-olds mostly travel to India to see religious places. Followed by Other reasons.
25-34 year-olds mostly travel to India for Other reasons. Followed by visiting the monuments, forts, palaces, museums AND medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing.
35-44 year-olds mostly travel to India for Other reasons as well. Followed closely by medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing.
45-54-year-olds mostly travel to India for medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing. Followed by Other reasons.
55-64-year-olds mostly travel to India to visit monuments, forts, palaces, museums. Followed by medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing.
Above-65-year-olds mostly travel to India for medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing. Followed by monuments, forts, palaces, museums.
One thing that I found confusing was that only 55-64 year olds primarily chose monuments, forts, palaces, museums, which is odd considering it was selected over 70% of the time for each ranking.
I think this is because that selection was chosen far more times as the first through fifth reasons, therefore was ranked 4th or 5th more times than say medical treatment… which received less votes but more #1 rankings.
Another Way To Look At The Age Group Data Would Be:
- Above-65-year-olds are more motivated to visit monuments, forts, palaces, museums than the other age groups.
- 45-54 year-olds are more motivated to visit hill stations, mountains, beaches, scenic places than the other age groups.
- Above-65-year-olds & 18-24-year-olds are more motivated to visit religious places than the other age groups.
- 45-54 yrs & Above-65-year-olds are more motivated to visit India for medical treatment, yoga, meditation, spiritual healing than the other age groups.
What Are The Differences in Motivation By Nationality?
In the same way, the study weighted the rankings by age group, they also weighted the rankings and averaged them for each country. T
herefore, if a selection was given a 1 ranking it was then given a score of 5 points. If a selection was given a 5 ranking then it was given a score of 1 point.
| Country of residence | Monuments, Forts, Palaces and Museums | Hill stations, mountains, beaches, scenic places | Religious places | Medical treatment, yoga, meditation & spiritual healing | Others |
| Australia | 3.56 | 3.66 | 3.84 | 1.76 | 4.26 |
| Canada | 4.22 | 3.11 | 4.16 | 1.71 | 4.7 |
| China | 4.04 | 3.61 | 3.96 | 3.9 | 4.79 |
| France | 3.99 | 3.54 | 4.39 | 3.64 | 4.42 |
| Germany | 4.25 | 3.68 | 4.38 | 4.14 | 4.81 |
| Hong Kong | 3.77 | 2.91 | 2.98 | 2.99 | 4.37 |
| Japan | 3.72 | 3.36 | 4.13 | 3.56 | 4.81 |
| Malaysia | 3.52 | 3.67 | 3.63 | 3.97 | 4.71 |
| Singapore | 3.98 | 3.78 | 4.27 | 4.8 | 4.85 |
| Sri Lanka | 3.53 | 3.11 | 4.11 | 2.87 | 4.66 |
| Switzerland | 4.08 | 3.4 | 4.72 | 3.95 | 4.76 |
| Thailand | 4.04 | 4.49 | 4.35 | 3.72 | 4.85 |
| UAE | 3.94 | 3.7 | 3.58 | 4.4 | 4.75 |
| UK | 3.95 | 3.82 | 3.42 | 4.17 | 4.89 |
| USA | 3.91 | 3.47 | 4.29 | 3.48 | 4.85 |
| Others | 4.02 | 3.89 | 4.13 | 4.87 | 4.48 |
I bolded the highest point values for each selection (column). I used italics to indicate the countries with the lowest ranking for each selection (column).
- Australians and Canadians are NOT visiting India for medical treatment, yoga, meditation or spiritual healing.
- Germans, Swiss, and Canadians are visiting India for the museums, forts, palaces, museums.
- Thai travelers visit India much more than the other countries for the hill stations, mountains, beaches, scenic places.
- France, Germany, Thai travelers visit India more than the other countries for religious places.
- Singapore, UAE and UK travelers visit India more for medical treatment, yoga, meditation, and spiritual healing.
Problems With This Data:
Like any study, this one has some flaws:
- Data was collected in 2009-2010. It’s over 10 years old.
- Didn’t take into account the personality and income of the tourists
- Categories were too broad: For instance, medical treatment is listed with yoga and meditation.
Crompton’s push and pull model (1979) found that the reasons tourists choose a destination was not only what “pulled” them to the new place. But also what “pushed” them from their home.
Crompton’s (1979) push and pull model emphasizes that tourist’s choice of a travel destination is influenced by two forces. Push factors that push individuals from home, and pull factors that pull individuals toward a destination. In other words, people are traveling because they are pushed by their internal motives and pulled by external forces of a travel destination.
Lam, T., and Hsu, C. H. C. (2006), “Predicting Behavioral Intention of Choosing a Travel Destination”, Tourism Management, 27(4), 589-599
It would be interesting to hear what sort of internal motivations pushed people to visit India and look for correlations between the motivations that drew them here.
A List of Popular Monuments, Palaces, Forts and Museums Across India
I can see why so many tourists choose the monuments, palaces, forts and museums. India is so unique and different.
- Taj Mahal, Agra: Attracts 8 million tourists each year.
- India Gate, Delhi
- Amber Palace, Jaipur
- Hawa Mahal, Jaipur
- Qutub Minar, Delhi
- Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Aurangabad
- The Gateway of India, Mumbai
- Golden Temple, Amritsar
- Lotus Temple, Delhi
- Matrimandir, Auroville
- Agra Fort, Agra
- Red Fort, Delhi
- Itmad-ud-Daula (Baby Taj), Agra
- Jama Masjid, Delhi
- Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra
- Mysore Palace, Mysore
- Khajuraho Erotic Temples, Khajuraho
- Charminar, Hyderabad
- Victoria Memorial, Kolkatta
- City Palace, Udaipur
- Victoria Terminus, Mumbai
- Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur
- Sun Temple, Konark
- Gwalior Fort, Gwalior
- Rani ka Vav, Patan
- Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu
- Ghats along Ganges River in Varanasi
- Hampi, Karnataka
- Aihole, Karnataka
- Golconda Fort, Hyderabad
- Murud-Janjira Fort, Maharashtra
- Adiyoga Shiva Statue, Coimbatore
- Buddha Statue, Hyderabad
- Statue of Unity, Gujarat
- Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Tamil Nadu
This not an exhaustive list and there are so many more beautiful places to visit in India!
Related Question:
What are the Features of Tourism in India?
There are holy places, temples, monuments, palaces, forts, and many more which are the main reason tourists visit India, according to a study by the Indian Statistical Institute.