Abstract
This study empirically analyses domestic travel patterns pertaining to social, pilgrimage and health trips in India. Logistic regression and exploratory spatial analysis were undertaken to understand the relationship of regional travel, destination and purpose with individual and travel characteristics. The results suggest that the odds of preferring to travel outside one's district as compared to traveling within decreases for both urban and rural areas. Positive influence of availing public transportation and specific time of the year on destination choice were observed. Spatial non-stationarity of the choices revealed regions of local clustering. Spatial clustering in case of social and pilgrimage trips hinted towards satisfaction attainment of travelers, whereas the high value clusters of long distance travel for health trips pointed towards probable gaps in infrastructure coverage. These findings suggest that incorporating purpose based travel patterns into transport policies can effectively reduce impedance towards trip taking leading to better quality of life.
