Election tourism: 27% surge in inter-state travel during Lok Sabha polls

India offers a diverse array of tourism opportunities including cultural tourism, wildlife tourism, medical tourism, village-stay tourism, Himalayan trekking, and pilgrimage tourism, as well as yoga and temple tourism. As the world's largest democracy, it also presents a unique form of election tourism.

"Election tourism is a fascinating phenomenon that reflects the deep-rooted commitment of citizens towards democratic participation," Rohit Sharma, COO of AbhiBus (ixigo bus business) said.

Travel trends during elections

Travel platforms like ixigo and AbhiBus have observed significant shifts in travel patterns during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These changes were noted based on the phases of polling across various states in India.

" Our analysis of bus travel trends during the recent elections reveals a remarkable surge in intra-state travel across Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh," Rohit Sharma said.

AbhiBus's analysis of bus travel trends indicated that in Tamil Nadu, travel activity increased by 27% over usual levels. Similarly, Odisha saw a 10% increase, Bihar 16%, Rajasthan 26%, and Uttar Pradesh 24% in bus travel demand during this election season.

Inter-state voter mobilisation

There was notable inter-state travel during the election period, with a 21% increase in bus travel from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu, suggesting a cross-border mobilisation of voters.

Bus travel search increase on Abhibus — Week on week

Banglore - Mumbai: 104%

Mumbai- Delhi: 52%

Delhi-Srinagar: 45%

Chandigarh - Srinagar: 48%

Air travel analysis

Here's an analysis of one-way average airfares for various routes as reported by Ixigo, comparing the prices from the period of 19 April to 1 June 2024 with those in the same period in 2023, along with the year-on-year percentage increase:

New Delhi to Ahmedabad

2024: Rs 4,735
2023: Rs 3,871
YoY increase: 22%

Hyderabad to Vishakhapatnam

2024: Rs 5,587
2023: Rs 5,040
YoY increase: 11%

New Delhi to Lucknow

2024: Rs 5,486
2023: Rs 4,478
YoY increase: 23%

New Delhi to Ranchi

2024: Rs 7,487
2023: Rs 5,729
YoY increase: 31%

Pune to Nagpur

2024: Rs 7,163
2023: Rs 5,161
YoY increase: 39%

New Delhi to Amritsar

2024: Rs 3,907
2023: Rs 3,694
YoY increase: 6%

Tourism in India

India's inbound tourism sector has witnessed a significant resurgence, with foreign tourist arrivals increasing by 64% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching a total of 9,236,108 visitors. However, despite this growth, the sector remains 15.5% below the pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019, as reported by the Ministry of Tourism.