India’s highway expansion is changing the way travellers move across the country. The government has sharply increased spending on roads and expressways over the past decade, positioning infrastructure as a key economic and tourism driver. India is expected to add up to 13,000 km of roads in a single fiscal year, while nearly 90,000 km of national highways have been built since 2014.
The highways to travel
The rise of access-controlled expressways is significantly reducing travel time between major cities and tourism hubs. In April 2026, India inaugurated a 594-km expressway in Uttar Pradesh connecting 12 districts and cutting travel time across the state dramatically. The project is part of a wider strategy to boost industrial growth and tourism through improved mobility. Even with rising fuel prices and expensive holidays abroad, road trips are gaining traction for the much needed summer holiday breaks!
The expressway network itself has expanded rapidly. India now has more than 7,000 km of operational expressways, with over 11,000 km under construction, according to industry data. Key corridors such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Dwarka Expressway and Bengaluru-Chennai corridor are reshaping domestic travel patterns and making long-distance road journeys faster and safer.
Luxury coach operators, self-drive companies and experiential tour providers are increasingly building itineraries around improved highways. Multi-city road journeys that once took several days are now becoming viable short-break products.
Last mile connectivity
While mega expressways dominate headlines, the broader road infrastructure push is also improving last mile access to smaller tourism destinations. Better feeder roads and rural highways are helping connect remote villages, eco-tourism zones and mountain regions to mainstream tourism circuits.
The government’s Bharatmala and regional highway projects are focusing on economic corridors, border roads and backward-region connectivity. Industry reports suggest that road funding has nearly tripled in the last five years, highlighting the strategic focus on improving nationwide access.
Improved roads are especially important for destinations in the Northeast, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and tribal regions, where poor accessibility previously limited tourism growth. New tunnels, bypasses and all-weather highways are helping reduce travel disruptions and seasonal isolation.
Stronger last mile connectivity means new opportunities for boutique stays, homestays, wellness retreats and adventure tourism products in emerging destinations.
Alternatives to overtourism
India’s road development is also helping address overtourism by dispersing travellers beyond traditional hotspots. Improved connectivity is making secondary destinations easier to access, encouraging tourists to explore lesser-known regions instead of crowding into saturated cities and hill stations. Destinations near major highways are increasingly positioning themselves as alternatives to overcrowded tourism centres such as Goa, Shimla and Manali. Better roads are enabling travellers to stay in nearby towns and explore wider regional circuits.
This trend aligns with the growing interest in “slow travel” and experiential tourism. Travellers are increasingly looking for regional food trails, village tourism, wildlife routes and offbeat cultural experiences that can be reached comfortably by road.
Growing culture of road trips and caravan travel
The rapid expansion of highways is fuelling a new road-trip culture in India. Millennials and Gen Z travellers are increasingly choosing self-drive holidays, scenic drives and weekend getaways as improved roads make long-distance driving more practical.
The development of wayside amenities is playing an important role in this shift. Highway infrastructure now increasingly includes food plazas, EV charging stations, rest stops and traveller facilities aimed at making journeys more comfortable. India’s National Highways Authority is planning over 1,000 such highway amenities over the next five years.
Social media has also amplified interest in road-based tourism, with scenic drives and hidden destinations becoming major travel trends. Better highways are helping travellers access coastal routes, desert circuits, wildlife regions and mountain roads more safely.
States such as Kerala and Karnataka have begun promoting caravan-friendly tourism policies, while private operators are introducing luxury campervan and motorhome experiences for domestic travellers.
The broader growth in domestic travel is expected to further support this trend.
For the B2B travel industry, the opportunities are widening across self-drive holidays, premium roadside hospitality, caravan parks, experiential itineraries and integrated mobility-tourism partnerships. As India’s road network evolves, road tourism is becoming a mainstream segment rather than a niche travel style.
