Gen Z, social media helping fuel spiritual tourism in India

Spiritual tourism is seeing a boom in India thanks to the wide reach of social media and better transport connectivity.

Varanasi, India – In India, some members of Generation Z prefer temples over nightclubs.

Shivam Dwivedi, a native of Prayagraj district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, prays at a neighbourhood temple at least twice a week.

The 19-year-old and his friends have shunned trips to beach and party destinations popular with this age group. Instead, Dwivedi and his friends Saurabh Shukla, 21, and Anand Dwivedi, 20, prefer to visit important Hindu shrines, some in remote corners of the country.

The friends, who are studying engineering, told Al Jazeera they get mental peace and find a “source of energy” on their trips to religious places.

“We feel a connect with the divine. … There is a source of energy that flows inside us that gives us mental peace as pressure of education and career building often becomes too hectic to handle,” Shukla told Al Jazeera while standing in line outside Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the holy city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Parties and a dazzling nightlife do not attract them, Shivam Dwivedi added. “We have never planned a visit to Goa and other such places where people go just for raging parties, casinos and nightlife. We want peace and positivity that is available in religious places and in nature,” he explained.

Faith-based holidays make up 60 percent of India’s domestic tourism, according to a March report by the real estate consultancy CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd.

The industry is estimated to grow at a compounded annual rate of 16.2 percent and is likely to reach $4.6bn in size by 2033, according to the report.

Some of that business is being driven by members of