After cultural, spiritual, and sustainable tourism, India is now seeing a new tourism trend – election tourism! With the ongoing general elections, travel platforms like ixigo and AbhiBus have noticed significant shifts in travel patterns. According to them, there is a surge in inter-state travel and it is based on the phases of polling across various states in India. Read on to learn more about this latest travel trend in India.
Election Tourism – A New Travel Trend Observed In The Country
A unique form of tourism is emerging in India right now and it is being termed as ‘Election Tourism.’ According to this trend, people are travelling across the country to cast their vote and this has led to a significant increase in inter-state mobility. According to ixigo and AbhiBus, there has been an increase of about 27% in inter-state travel since the Lok Sabha polls began in April. They have even noted that this mobility is based on the phases of polling in different states.
India is a massive country – population-wise as well as geographically. That’s why elections here are held in phases. This gives people enough time to travel and cast their votes in their respective constituencies. This time around, the travel platforms have noted that there is an increase in inter-state voter mobilisation, especially via bus and air.
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Travel Platforms Give An Insight Into This Trend
There has been notable inter-state travel from Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in the last few weeks. According to AbhiBus’s analysis of bus travel trends indicated that for Tamil Nadu, travel activity increased by 27%. Likewise, Odisha saw a 10% increase, Bihar 16%, Rajasthan 26%, and Uttar Pradesh 24% in bus travel demand during the Lok Sabha polls. For air travel, this demand has resulted in a up to 39% increase in airfares on many routes.
According to Rohit Sharma, COO of AbhiBus, “Election tourism is a fascinating phenomenon that reflects the deep-rooted commitment of citizens towards democratic participation.” He then went on to mention, “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.”
If this isn’t responsible travel, then what is? It is heartening to see that people are travelling across states to cast their votes and exercise their rights! Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section.
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva
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