ECONOMIC MULTIPLIERS, SPATIAL TRANSFORMATIONS, AND SUSTAINABLE POLICY FRAMEWORKS IN INDIAS SACRED AND WELLNESS TOURISM ECONOMY: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SYNTHESIS AND CASE-BASED ANALYSIS

Religious and spiritual tourism has evolved from a traditional devotional practice into a primary engine of economic expansion and service-sector growth in emerging markets (Kannaujia et al., 2026; Rakshit & Koley, 2024). Contributing approximately 5% to Indias multi-trillion-dollar economy, faith-based travel acts as a powerful channel for redistributing capital from urban centers to peripheral and rural pilgrimage hubs (Kannaujia et al., 2026; Rakshit & Koley, 2024). Grounded in regional economic multiplier theory and spatial dynamic frameworks, this study synthesizes academic literature across fourteen structural sub-themes and evaluates six major pilgrimage nodes in India: Varanasi, Tirumala Tirupati, Amritsar, Rishikesh, Ayodhya, and Mathura-Vrindavan (Arora, 2025; Awasthi & Thussu, 2025; Gupta & Gahalot, 2024; Prada et al., 2022; Rajesh & Divya, 2026; Rashmi, 2021; Shinde, 2010). The findings demonstrate that large-scale infrastructure investments such as the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and PRASAD initiatives generate regional multiplier effects, job creation, and micro-enterprise growth (Awasthi & Thussu, 2025; Kannaujia et al.,2026).However,rapid growth also exacerbates negative externalities, including environmental degradation, housing inflation, and capital leakage (Arora, 2025; Gupta & Gahalot, 2024; Rashmi, 2021). To reconcile economic development with cultural and ecological limits, this paper proposes policy interventions focused on spatial decentralization, community-based lodging, local procurement mandates, and digital capacity management (Gupta & Gahalot, 2024; Rajesh & Divya, 2026; Rakshit & Koley, 2024).