Did you take a holiday for leisure this summer? You’re unusual.

The first time (and only time, so far) that India comprehensively measured domestic tourism was in 2008-9 for the 65th round of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

The average Indian household took four trips overnight trips a year, higher in rural than in urban areas; there isn’t much of a pattern to inter-state differences. The NSSO defines a trip as a visit of between up to six months, and excludes trips made for work. For this piece, I’ve also excluded all trips without an overnight stay, because nearly a quarter of these are shopping trips, and they don’t really fit my idea of a holiday.