ANALYSIS OF RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN WESTERN MAHARASHTRA: CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Abstract

Tourism and religion are closely interlinked in India. It has both emotional as well as business association. Every individual has the innate desire to travel and discover new things. Nowadays, everyone is stressed out and wants a break from their daily routine. People travel to new locations to enjoy their beauty, which over time gave rise to the current industry known as tourism. With 36 districts, Western Maharashtra is the third-largest state in India. Thousands of tourists visit each district every year. The potential of India's religious tourism business has not yet been fully realised. Regional balance, community development, employment generation are possible through religious tourism. The present study aims to analyze the potential of Western Maharashtra as a religious tourism hub. The article is empirical in nature. The survey was carried out for 100 religious tourists to understand their perceptions, challenged faced and potential of tourism in Maharashtra from Pandharpur, Kolhapur, Tuljapur and other places. It was revealed that pricing has great influence on the tourists’ mind-sets. There is a linear relationship between the number of religious tourists and the revenue generated from religious tourism in Western Maharashtra.