Spiritual tourism is bringing millions of people to

, with statistics indicating that districts with popular temples have emerged as top draws.

The district ranking list released by the directorate of tourism for 2018 said that the temple town of Kancheepuram secured the first position, followed closely by Chennai. The two neighbouring districts, with Chennai popularly believed to be the gateway to south India, collectively account for 20% of the total 38.59 crore domestic tourists who visited the state last year.

Interestingly,

, Dindigul and

that have ancient temples such as Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram, Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple in Palani and UNESCO-notified Brihadeeswarar Temple have been ranked third, fourth and fifth, based on the number of domestic tourist arrivals.

While

and

Kanyakumari

figure among the top 10 destinations, Queen of Hill Stations , The Nilgiris, secured only the 11th position.

However, the rankings vary with regard to international tourist arrivals. The department of tourism measures footfalls based on data from multiple stakeholders, including check-in at hotels, information from the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department and number of visitors to ticketed monuments of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Indian Association of Tour Operators (Tamil Nadu chapter) chairman Pandian K said spiritual tourism was indeed the driving force. “The number of spiritual tourists among inbound travellers is growing at a rate of 20% a year. Naadi jothidam and navagraha pilgrimage in Thanjavur region is a hit not only among the Indian diaspora, but foreign nationals, as well,” he said. Exclusive packages are booked overseas for visiting Tamil Nadu temples, he added. Noting that the ‘Panchabootha stalams’, involving the worship of five elements of nature, was unique to the state, he said, the need of hour was to improve tourist infrastructure around temples. “Toilets with international standards should be built near temples. Streets leading to the temples must be kept clean,” he said.

Tamil Nadu topped in attracting domestic tourists consecutively between 2014 and 2017, accounting for about 20% of the total domestic travellers in the country.

Though it retained the first position recording the most footfalls in 2015 and 2016, in the foreign tourist arrivals, it slipped to second spot in 2017. In 2018, tourist arrivals increased compared to the last four years.

Director of tourism Amudhavalli told TOI they were taking steps to improve amenities and tourist attractions in temple towns. “For instance, Rameswaram will soon have a sound and light show on Ramayana,” she said.