20+ Religious Tourism Statistics [2025 Update]

Religious tourism is one of the world’s biggest and most resilient travel segments.

Market analysts value the global religious tourism market at about $254.3 billion in 2023, with projections of $671.9 billion by 2030 if current growth continues.

Meanwhile, the United Nations’ tourism body has long estimated 300–330 million visitors to major religious sites each year, a figure still used as a baseline for scale even as post-pandemic recovery lifts volumes in many destinations.

A few data points capture the momentum.

Saudi Arabia counted 1.67 million Hajj pilgrims in 2025 and reports 18.5 million combined Hajj and Umrah pilgrims in 2024.

The Catholic world’s marquee sites also show strong pull: 6.8 million visitors to the Vatican Museums in 2024, and 6.2 million pilgrims at Fátima in Portugal in 2024.

Spain’s Camino de Santiago logged a record 499,242 compostelas in 2024.

India’s Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 drew extraordinary crowds—local authorities estimate hundreds of millions of ritual visits over six weeks—though analysts caution that these counts measure visits rather than unique people.

Key stats: Religious Tourism

• USD 254.3 billion was the estimated value of the global religious tourism market in 2023 — and it’s forecast to tripled to ~USD 671.9 billion by 2030.
• Between 2023 and 2024, the market jumped from ~USD 161.5 billion to ~USD 175 billion, marking strong growth.
• Every year, 300–330 million visits are made to major religious sites worldwide, illustrating the scale of faith-based travel.
• About 600 million religious & spiritual voyages (both domestic & international) occur globally; Europe accounts for ~40 % of these.
• In 2024, 499,239 pilgrims completed the Camino de Santiago (registered certificate holders).
• The 2024 Hajj saw ~1,833,164 pilgrims (local + international) participating in the rite.
• A study indicates religious tourism correlates strongly with economic benefits: ~0.77 impact on income, ~0.66 on employment, ~0.72 on local economic health.
• Hajj 2025: 1,673,230 pilgrims, including 1.51 million from abroad.
• Saudi 2024 (Hajj + Umrah): 18.5 million pilgrims; Umrah alone about 16.92 million.
• Vatican Museums 2024: 6.8 million visitors.
• Fátima 2024: 6.2 million pilgrims.
• Camino de Santiago 2024: 499,242 compostelas issued (record).
• Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: authorities reported 663 million visits across 45 days; media and analysts note this is visits, not unique people, and debate methodology.

How big is the market and how fast is it growing?

Most recent market research places religious tourism firmly in the high-growth segment of experience-led travel.

One widely cited forecast pegs the sector at $254.3 billion in 2023, rising to $671.9 billion by 2030 at a compound annual rate above 15 percent.

As with any model, ranges differ by firm and scope, but the direction is consistent: demand is strong and still diversifying beyond traditional pilgrimages into faith-adjacent heritage travel and spiritual retreats.

UNWTO’s long-used benchmark of 300–330 million annual visitors to major religious sites is often referenced in 2025 commentary to signal underlying scale, even if precise, up-to-the-minute headcounts vary by destination and method.

Market outlook at a glance

Source: Grand View Research; UNWTO references as summarized by EHL analysis, Aug 2025.

What do the marquee pilgrimages look like by the numbers?

Saudi Arabia publishes some of the most detailed pilgrimage statistics.

Official data for Hajj 1446H (2025) confirm 1.67 million total pilgrims, 90 percent arriving from outside the Kingdom.

A 2024 program report also cites 18.5 million combined Hajj and Umrah pilgrims that year, with Umrah accounting for the vast majority. Quarterly Umrah bulletins show the build-up behind those totals.

India’s Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 was one of the largest mass gatherings ever measured.

Local authorities reported 663 million visits over 45 days, and major outlets from Reuters to The Economist covered both the scale and the methodological caveats.

The consensus: the event generated extraordinary volumes—best interpreted as visit counts rather than unique persons.

Recent headline pilgrimage volumes

Where is religious tourism growing the fastest?

Growth hotspots map to destinations expanding capacity and access.

• Saudi Arabia is scaling infrastructure and services for Hajj and Umrah. Beyond the 2025 Hajj count, 2024 saw 18.5 million total pilgrims and program targets call for even higher Umrah capacity by 2030. Quarterly GASTAT bulletins show surges in both domestic and foreign Umrah travel.
• Iberia continues to climb on the back of the Camino de Santiago and renewed interest in Marian sites like Fátima, which reported 6.2 million pilgrims in 2024.
• Italy remains a year-round draw. The Vatican Museums reported 6.8 million visitors in 2024, essentially back to peak pre-pandemic volumes.
• India sees massive periodic spikes tied to the Kumbh cycle, with 2025’s Maha Kumbh generating unprecedented visit counts, transportation demand, and temporary-city logistics.

How should we interpret very large crowd numbers?

Methods matter. Destination authorities may report:

• Persons (unique individuals)
• Visits or footfall (total entries or ritual actions, where one person can generate multiple counts)
• Estimates based on sensors, tickets, mobile data, or traffic models

For the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, government figures reported 663 million ritual visits.

Major outlets highlighted the distinction between visits and unique people, and raised reasonable questions about precision.

The takeaway: the event reached extraordinary scale, but direct comparisons to unique-visitor counts at other sites should be made carefully.

What does all of this mean for destinations and travelers?

• Capacity and safety: High-volume pilgrimages require crowd management, heat mitigation, and medical readiness. Saudi officials detail transport and arrival modes; India’s Kumbh planning illustrates the scale of temporary city building.
• Seasonality: Peaks around specific feast days, bathing dates, and Hajj seasons drive extreme demand within short windows.
• Economic impact: While global religious-tourism GDP is modeled at the market level, site-specific numbers like Vatican Museums and Fátima show strong museum, lodging, and service spillovers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is religious tourism today?
Recent market estimates place it around $254 billion in 2023, with projections above $670 billion by 2030 if trends hold.

How many people visit major religious sites each year?
UNWTO’s long-standing benchmark is 300–330 million annual visitors to major sites. It is still referenced in 2025 analyses as a global scale indicator.

How many people performed Hajj in 2025?
Saudi Arabia’s official count is 1,673,230 pilgrims, of whom 1.51 million came from abroad.

What about Umrah outside the Hajj season?
In 2024, Saudi authorities reported 18.5 million total pilgrims for Hajj and Umrah combined; about 16.92 million were Umrah performers.

Is the Kumbh Mela really the largest gathering?
In 2025, local authorities reported 663 million ritual visits over 45 days. Media coverage emphasized that this measures visits rather than unique individuals.

Sources

1. Grand View Research — Religious Tourism Market Size, Share & Trends
2. EHL Hospitality Insights — The Challenges of Religious Tourism in an Overcrowded World (UNWTO benchmarks)
3. GASTAT (Saudi Arabia) — Hajj 1446H (2025) Official Statistics
4. DataSaudi (Saudi Arabia) — Hajj 2025 Dashboard
5. Pilgrim Experience Program, Vision 2030 — Annual Report 2024 (18.5M pilgrims)
6. Reuters — The unprecedented scale of India’s Maha Kumbh festival
7. Reuters — Last day of Maha Kumbh drew 663 million visits
8. The Economist — On Kumbh attendance assumptions
9. The Art Newspaper — The world’s most-visited museums 2024 (Vatican Museums)
10. Santuário de Fátima — The Shrine of Fátima welcomed 6.2 million pilgrims in 2024
11. Pilgrim’s Reception Office — Camino de Santiago statistics (2024 compostelas)
12. GASTAT — Umrah Statistics Q2/Q3 2024
13. Saudi Gazette — 18.5M pilgrims in 2024; 16.92M Umrah (Doyof Al-Rahman report)