The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report has showed that between 2007 and 2015, the share of respondents in India who perceived religion to be very important increased by 11 per cent to 80 per cent now, and the average expenditure on religious trips has more than doubled during this period. According to National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) half of the package trips were made for religious and pilgrimage purposes and about 28 per cent for leisure and holiday purposes.
To cater to this growing demand of spiritual tourism in the country, SOTC has introduced Darshans in association with ePuja, India’s first online portal for religious ceremonies. Darshans by SOTC is a selection of over 40 specially designed religious and spiritual experiences across 60 holy destinations in India. The tours have been designed keeping in mind the specific needs of the travellers to seamlessly aid their spiritual journey. The package includes peaceful, quick, convenient, hassle-free religious experience, pooja, special ‘havan,’ abhisheka, assisted temple visit amongst others.
Speaking about the launch, Vishal Suri, managing director, SOTC Travel said, “Spiritual tourism is the single largest category in domestic tourism which is an untapped, fragmented industry opportunity. Indians are seeking a pre-planned, organised, comfortable, spiritual travel experience. SOTC Darshans, offers customers this very service. Religious travellers can now explore a new way of travel that aids their spiritual journey. Pricing of our products has been worked around to suit every budget, offering travellers a seamless spiritual journey.”