Tourism and Travel Commons^™

Drivers Of Religious Tourism In Nigeria: Spiritual And Secular Reasons, Olakunle Shakur Olawuyi Dr, Oluwafunminiyi Wasiu Raheem Dr, Adetunji Sunday Oni Dr.

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious activities have been engaged by humans since time immemorial. People have moved from one location to the other to offer sacrifices and engage in ritual activities around sacred objects and spiritual beings. Travelling to religious destinations with an inclination towards tourism is essentially a form of niche tourism. This study investigated the drivers of religious tourism in Nigeria from the prism of spiritual and mundane reasons. Data were retrieved via key informant interviews conducted at Osun-Osogbo Groove and Olokun Temple in southwest Nigeria. The findings revealed that the religious beliefs of most tourists who visit the Osun Grove and …

Religious Travel To Sunan Papak’S Sacred Tomb, Garut , West Java, Indonesia, Yunus Winoto, Ninis Agustini Damayani, Teguh Husodo, Ute Lies Siti Khadijah, Shamila Mohamed Shuhidan, Falih Ijlal Septian

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The sacred grave of Raden Wangsa Muhammad, or ‘Sunan Papak’, is an important holy grave in Garut, Indonesia, attracting many visitors as religious tourists. The study aimed to find out the spiritual elements in a series of pilgrimage activities, the views of pilgrims on sacred objects and sacred water, and the motivations of pilgrims who come to Sunan Papak’s holy tomb. This study uses a quantitative approach via survey research. Data were collected using questionnaires, observations, expert interviews and documentation studies. Based on the results of the study, it was revealed that in carrying out this pilgrimage, various religious elements …

Segmenting Religious Tourists Based On Google Maps Reviews Using Latent Semantic Analysis And Hierarchical Clustering, Senthilkumaran Piramanayagam, Jyothi Mallya, Kartikeya Bolar

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Researchers in the tourism industry and academics are interested in analysing and extracting conclusions from user-generated data because they offer valuable insights into visitors’ motives, experiences, and consumption behaviour. However, religious tourists’ data have rarely been explored specifically in segmentation studies. Therefore, this study aims to segment religious tourists based on their Google Map reviews using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) and hierarchical clustering. These analyses have resulted in three distinct segments: heritage explorers, aesthetes, and self-transcendence seekers. While heritage explorers are interested in learning about the cultural and historical significance of a site, aesthetes appreciate its beauty and art, while …

Grave Pilgrimage: The Interface Of Islam And Local Tradition In Indonesia, Nikmatullah Nikmatullah

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Grave pilgrimage is one of the important traditions for Indonesian Muslim communities, which is not only influenced by religious teachings but also influenced by local traditions. The harmonisation between Islam and local Sasak traditions forms the Sasak Islamic tradition practiced by the natives of Lombok Island. This article explains the motivations, meanings, rituals, and processions which pilgrims perform and the relationship between Islamic teachings and local traditions in the pilgrimage to the graves of Ulemas (Islamic scholars). To achieve this goal, the data of this qualitative research were obtained through observations, interviews, and online media to obtain in-depth data. The …

Timkat (Epiphany) As Living Faith: The Intersection Of Religion, Culture, And Tourism In Gondar, World Heritage Site, Ethiopia, Balew Baye, Dagnachew Nega

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The Epiphany celebration in Gondar, Ethiopia, is one of the most unique events in the world. Due to its outstanding cultural value, the Epiphany was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List. The remarkable history of Gondar and its vast cultural heritage make the city an open-air museum for the world. However, there has been little research focused on exploring the Epiphany celebration in Ethiopia. This study follows an exploratory and descriptive research design, utilising a qualitative approach. Interviews, observations, and document analysis were employed as data collection methods. Non-probability sampling techniques were used, specifically purposive and snowball sampling, involving …

Revisiting Tourism-Led-Growth Hypothesis In The Presence Of Structural Breaks: The Case Of Spiritual Tourism And Economic Growth In Saudi Arabia, Isiaka Akande Raifu, Lukman Lasisi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The study explores the Tourism-led-growth Hypothesis (TLGH) with a focus on spiritual tourism and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. Using the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) for 28 years of annual data, we evaluated the impact of religious tourism on economic growth in the presence of structural breaks. Our analysis yielded promising results; thus, we make 4 important contributions to the literature. First, we establish the presence of a positive relationship between spiritual tourism and economic growth across all our models. Second, we discover that domestic pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia is a modest contributor to economic growth compared with international …

Ijrtp Volume 13(Iv) Table Of Contents, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

IJRTP Volume 13(iv) Table of Contents

Artisanal Retreats, Michelle Larose

MA Projects

Artisanal Retreats is a luxury travel provider blending holistic personal wellness with art creation, appreciation, education and collection. We offer our clients an unparalleled retreat experience at our 250-acre pastoral escape, combining traditional wellness amenities and activities with art focused pursuits to aid guests in achieving optimal Creative Wellness. Set on a gorgeous, historic farm near the bucolic town of Middleburg, Virginia, Artisanal Retreats’ guests are transported to a heightened level of relaxation and vitality through our exceptional programming and hospitality. Our team is comprised of seasoned professionals, from both the art world and the wellness industry, intent on bringing …

Rm Sotheby’S Construction Of Value In The High-End Car Market, Pablo Mijares Musi

MA Theses

The purpose of my thesis is to tell and enlighten any readers how the most prestigious and iconic auction house in the world, RM Sotheby’s sells more than just cars from the high-end car market and how the auction house adds value to through storytelling and provenance from each vehicle.  In today’s luxury market economics, we see somewhat of a radical shift. The high-end car market has moved into a very refined area where these beautiful machines are no longer seen and appraised just for their aesthetic design and mechanical engineering, now we see new value drivers for these works …

Over-Tourism Of Naoshima Island: Comparison With Venice Using Tourists Carrying Capacity Model, Takutaro Onoe

MA Theses

This paper first proves Naoshima’s status as over-tourism in comparison with Venice and then finds out about logistical and infrastructural constraints. My argument will go further to discuss whether eliminating constraints through investment and development is the right direction for the island’s sustainable prosperity. Naoshima is in critical overtourism situation, especially during the year of Setouchi Triennale. The number of tourists per resident demonstrates that the situation is worse than in Venice. It may deteriorate living environment for residents, potentially causing anti-tourism sentiment on the island. As for tourists, their experience on the island may not be favored because of …

Wings Of Perception: Investigating Customer Sentiments In Indian Aviation Sector, Yashodhan Karulkar, Kaiwan Vaghchhipawala, Aditya Trivedi, Anushree Talekar

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

India's aviation sector, a key contributor to the nation's economy, has experienced rapid growth, supporting nearly 7.5 million jobs and contributing approximately $30 billion annually to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The growth, driven by increased demand for air travel and government incentives, has resulted in more competition among carriers. In the competitive market, it is necessary to understand customer preferences to enhance the quality of service and maintain a competitive edge. The dissemination of customer opinions on social media and review platforms offers airlines the opportunity to access passenger views. However, extracting useful information from this unstructured data is …

Why Dining Out Stayed Cheap In Japan, Taketo Hayashi

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines why food-away-from-home inflation in Japan was persistently lower than in the United States from 1995 to 2021 and why this dynamic changed after 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two structural buffers sustained the divergence: wage stagnation in Japan, which kept restaurant labor costs flat for nearly three decades, and a strong yen, which absorbed global commodity price shocks before they could reach restaurant menus. In 2008, the financial crisis sent food and energy prices skyrocketing. However, even though Japan imports most of its food and energy, the effects from global price increases were due to a strong …

Determinants Of The U.S. Experience Economy: A Macroeconomic, Demographic, And Technological Analysis, 1984–2023, Chloe Ross

CMC Senior Theses

Pine and Gilmore et al. 1999 examine American consumers’ preferences for experiences over durable goods. Since then, there has been a multitude of research on the psychology behind this shift in consumption preferences, and there has been an abundance of media coverage of the new “experience economy.” This thesis goes beyond psychology and examines the macroeconomic, demographic, and technological determinants of experiential spending in the United States from 1984 to 2023. I use annual data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) and variables from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), US …

Mount Rainier National Park: Tales, Trails, & Auto Tours, Jerry Rohde, Gisela Rohde, Larry Eifert

Archives & Reprint Series (imprint)

Re-release of the 1996 book on exploring Mount Rainier National Park. We are very pleased that you are about to read a reprint of our book, but 1996 was a long time ago, and many things have changed since then. While the human and natural history accounts are still accurate, some trail and road descriptions, along with park phone numbers and park facilities, are no longer valid. Before hiking any of the trails we describe in this book, please check with one of the park visitor centers for current information.

Beyond Price: How Platform Power Shapes Demand Allocation In Online Hotel Channels, Ling Ling, Timothy Webb, Zvi Schwartz

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Rate disparity remains a widely used but poorly understood pricing strategy in the hotel industry. While previous research generally assumes that lower prices shift demand toward less expensive channels, this study investigates whether such effects occur in practice. Using high-frequency booking and pricing data from five full-service hotels across multiple online travel agencies (OTAs), we analyze how rate disparity relates to the distribution of demand across channels. The findings show that the impact of price differences is limited, highly non-linear, and strongly dependent on contextual factors. Channel market power and hotel-specific characteristics seem to play a more significant role than …

Understanding Amenities In Peer-To-Peer Accommodation Platform: A Moderation Analysis, Emeka Ndaguba, Kerry Brown, Neda Kiani Mavi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study examines how amenities shape revenue performance in short-term rental (STR) markets by moving beyond additive feature models towards a configurational perspective. Using robust linear modelling on 14,630 Airbnb listings in regional Western Australia (2022–2024), the analysis tests both individual amenity effects and amenity complementarities. Results show that autonomy-enabling and niche-signalling amenities, such as kitchens and pet-friendliness, are positively associated with revenue, while some amenities, notably pools, reduce revenue when offered in isolation. Interestingly, interaction effects reveal that specific amenity bundles–particularly pool × pet-friendliness and kitchen × parking–generate synergistic value that exceeds the sum of individual effects. These findings …

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2026, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University, Vinod Agarwal, Josh Andrews, Andrea Barcenas, Barbara A. Blake, Leora Friedman, Elizabeth Janik, Angela Kwao, James V. Koch, Feng Lian, Nathan Moore, Melody Nguyen, Terry Parker, Mohamed Rahoui, Ashley Russ, Robert Mcnab

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

This is Old Dominion University’s 27th annual State of the Region: Hampton Roads Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian Hemphill, Ph.D., the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business, or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

This year’s report provides an opportunity to reflect on the region’s recent economic performance and ask how changes in federal trade, immigration, civilian employment, and spending policy have impacted …

Perceived Realism, Place Attachment, And Residents' Support And Involvement: Towards Resident-Centric Film Tourism Development, Deborah Castro, Sangkyun Kim, S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh, Songshan Huang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study introduces the concept of perceived realism to (film) tourism studies and examines its effect in combination with place attachment on residents' support for and involvement in film tourism development. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) were applied to a sample of 401 Barcelona residents to explore both symmetrical and asymmetrical relationships among the research constructs. The PLS-SEM revealed that events-focused external realism affects residents' support for film tourism development, while narrative realism affects their involvement in film tourism development. In addition, place attachment directly affects residents' support for and involvement in …

The Nexus Between Local Food Tourism Events And Social Sustainability: Future Prospects And Priorities, Alicia Orea-Giner, Francesc Fusté-Forné, Louise Todd, Eerang Park

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Food has increasingly taken a central role in events and festivals, and its significance in tourism has been well documented through various social and cultural perspectives. However, our understanding and the available research evidence regarding the substantial roles, contributions, and challenges of food tourism events, particularly in relation to social sustainability, remain limited. To accurately assess the development of research on food tourism events and those through the lens of social sustainability, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on studies published from 1983 to 2025, followed by a systematic literature review. The findings reveal five evolving research themes in the field: …

Can Environmentally Friendly Hotels Lead Customers To Green Behaviors? Evidence From The Stimulus–Organism–Response Model And Social Cognitive Theory, Saeid Nosrati, Mohtaram Rabbani, Razieh Sharifipur Shirazi, Ilkay Yorganci, Niusha Talebzadeh, Negin Bassirat

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose Using the stimulus–organism–response model and social cognitive theory, this study aims to examine how environmentally friendly hotels influence customers’ green patronage intention and green word-of-mouth. The study explored the mediating effects of hedonic value and utilitarian value and the moderating role of environmental concern. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 200 customers of environmentally friendly hotels in Iran and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Mplus (version 8.3) software. Findings The results indicate that environmentally friendly hotels positively influence hedonic and utilitarian values, as well as green patronage intention and green word-of-mouth. Additionally, hedonic and utilitarian values partially mediate …