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Spiritual Experience At The Arbaeen Pilgrimage: The Case Of Iranian Pilgrims, Ali Movahed, Mehdi Moazzeni, Behnam Kian

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages and other trips with spiritual motivation are one of the first forms of tourism, and today pilgrimage tourism in all its forms has become an important part of the global tourism market. The Arbaeen pilgrimage on foot is a memorable journey on the way to Karbala in Iraq, and most pilgrims, especially Iranians, choose to walk to Karbala from the city of Najaf for this purpose. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of Iranian pilgrims who participate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage on foot and to explore what the pilgrims themselves say about their experiences, as …

Development Of Bali Spirit Festival To Support Sustainable Spiritual Tourism, Mohamad Yusuf, I Putu Gede Eka Praptika

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Spiritual tourism has developed significantly through creative activities such as the Bali Spirit Festival in Ubud, Bali. The aim of this paper is to analyse the practice of Bali Spirit Festival and its prospects for supporting tourism sustainability. The research design is descriptive-analytical and based on qualitative data. The data collection was done through in-depth interviews and a study of the literature. The research results reveal that spiritual tourism is oriented toward self-development based on religious values, culture, and nature without being exclusively tied to a specific religion. Further, the principles of spiritual tourism in Bali Spirit Festival can contribute …

Exploring The Conceptual Structure And Perspectives Of Religious-Spiritual And Wellness Tourism Research From The Destination Community: A Bibliometric Review, Priyanka Babu N, Sherry Abraham

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The conceptualisation of specific holistic tourism components (religious-spiritual-wellness tourism) and their influence on community well-being in contemporary literature appears complex and needs to be more specific. This research traces critical developments in religious-spiritual-wellness tourism and their relationship with community by reviewing published literature in the Scopus database from 1990 to 2020 using bibliometric analysis. The literature review includes three sub-areas: descriptive analysis, reference publication year spectroscopy, and network analysis. In demonstrating the trends and evolution, the study focuses on the social, conceptual, and intellectual structures in religious-spiritual-wellness tourism (RSWT) and community. The key findings indicate that the RSWT community is …

Religious Tourism In An Atheistic Society: The Example Of The Czech Republic, Ivo Jirásek, Tereza Štěrbová

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

For a more accurate understanding of religious tourism, it is useful to distinguish between faith-based tourism, spiritual tourism and tourism in religious spaces. The former is characterized by religious faith (and processes of hierophany), the next by spirituality and transcendence experience, while the latter remains in the secular realm of experience. Based on this conceptual grasp, the paper presents the situation in the highly secular Czech Republic and investigates the opinions of service and offer providers in this type of tourism through interviews (n = 3). A comparison with the demand and preferences of tourism participants was collected through an …

Integration Of Islamic Religious Values And Javanese Culture In The Development Of Pilgrimage Tourism In Ngawonggo, Indonesia, Mahatva Yoga Adi Pradana, Darsono Wisadirana, Muhammad Lukman Hakim, Ahmad Imron Rozuli

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Spiritual tourism prioritising religious aspects, is one of East Java’s oldest forms of tourism, especially in Malang district. This form of tourism has long developed since combining Islamic and Javanese values. The concept emerged along with the Indonesian halal tourism brand. As a form of contribution to the development of religious tourism, this study seeks to show the existence of traditional relations in aspects of Islamic pilgrimage as a form of tourist behaviour which involves visiting historical tourism in tourist villages. This research uses a qualitative methods with a case study which includes interviews and participatory observation that aims to …

A Study On Islamic And Christian Missionary Work In The Top Twenty Global Economies, Tahir Sufi Dr, Mariya Malik

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Missionaries travel to promote religion or ‘faith’ among people worldwide. They also spearhead further education, social justice, health care, and economic development projects. However, over the years, missionaries have faced a backlash in several countries due to rising concerns for national security, secularism, and general attitude towards missionary work. In response to such concerns, our study investigates the approach of the world’s top twenty economies towards missionary work. The study explores if such countries permit missionary work, and if ‘yes,’ then ‘how’ missionaries are permitted to travel and under what conditions they are allowed to work in host countries. Finally, …

Sustainable And Inclusive Spiritual Tourism Development In Bali As A Long-Term Post-Pandemic Strategy, Jaeyeon Choe, Luh Putu Mahyuni

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The COVID-19 pandemic caused devastating socio-economic impacts in tourism destinations around the world. Many governments and tourism authorities could use the pandemic to seek more sustainable tourism development futures; for example, pre-pandemic Bali’s ‘tourism boom’ barely benefited local people and local businesses because of economic leakage and ‘tourist bubbles’. With an increasing demand on spiritual travel in the post pandemic period, Bali is seeking new opportunities as a spiritual tourism destination. This opportunity is based on their rich cultural and natural resources, and living heritage that can be related to spiritual tourism activities. This spiritual tourism development can contribute to …

Determinants Of Spiritual Tourism Consumption: A Hierarchical Approach, Suneel Kumar, Shivangi Gupta, Shekhar Asthana

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between factors influencing the travel intentions of the spiritual tourist. The research design comprises three segments, i.e., identifying factors from the literature, conducting interviews with the academic experts and managers, and analysing the responses recorded. The Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique is used to determine the interlinkage between the factors and develop a hierarchical relationship. This paper identified twelve factors that influence the travel intention of spiritual tourists. The results indicate that the pro-tourism attitude of the management of religious monuments, presence of relaxation and recreational activities, historical and cultural heritage of a …

Travelling To The Inner Self: Tourism, Buddhism And Sustainability In The Alpine Area, Tatjana Thimm

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper examines the interdependencies of tourism, Buddhism and sustainability combining in-depth-interviews with Buddhism experts and non-participant observation in a mixed-method approach. The area under investigation is the Alpine region of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, since it is home to Asian and Western forms of Buddhism tourism alike. Results show that Buddhism tourism as a value-based activity on the one hand is not commercial, but since demand is rising, on the other hand tendencies towards more commercial forms can be observed. As a modest form of activity Buddhism tourism does not shape the landscape of the Alpine area and by …

Impact Of Social Media On Spiritual Tourism In India: An Sem Analysis Of The Critical Factors Impacting On Decision Making, Alpana Agarwal, Komal Kapoor, Sandeep Walia

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Over the last two decades, an exponential rise has been observed in the growth of spiritual tourism where travellers are preferring and visiting places of religious inclination seeking to align their body and mind. In the current fast paced life where stress, anxiety, insecurities and depression have become common place, travelling to certain places that provide connection with the almighty or peace to the traveller has become very important. Spiritual tourism in India has always been very highly valued and is active as an industry in a country known as the land of temples and gods. Many globally popular destinations …

Can Spiritual Tourism In India Be Marketed Properly? Learnings From An Analysis Of Twitter, Veerasamy Senthil, Susobhan Goswami

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The tourism sector is an economic powerhouse for any country and tourism growth improves the quality of people’s lives by providing employment of diverse kinds. Electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) has emerged to become a highly influential strategy of modern marketing and a significant medium as harnessed by travel marketers. Sentiments are a representation of human emotions and present a wide spectrum of varying intensity. The objectives of this research paper are to examine what propels a spiritual traveller towards Indian sites of interest, to appreciate the function of beliefs and where does it yield fruits? It also analyses the …

Revisiting The Inner Self In Times Of Debilitating Distress: Gateways For Wellness Through Spiritual Tourism, Manpreet Arora, Roshan Lal Sharma, Sandeep Walia

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on our bodies, minds and souls. Having suffered it for more than a year now we know how crucial it is to tackle the pandemic at physical, psychological and spiritual levels. We have well-established Standard Operating Procedures alongside vaccines to deal with it at physical level, but equally crucial are mental and spiritual problems caused by COVID-19 (Chopra, 2020).

This paper seeks to explore certain gateways and possibilities of dealing with distress, despair, anxiety, angst, trauma and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in diverse arenas of human activities to ascertain how crucial …

The Satisfaction Of Bangladeshi Pilgrims: Service Gaps In Spiritual Tourism Based On Gender And Expenditure, Mohammad Mominul Islam

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study sheds light on the satisfaction of pilgrims and service gaps of tour operators. Data were gathered from 236 Bangladeshi pilgrims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Mecca and Madina and in Bangladesh in 2019. The results reveal that 94.9% of the tourists were satisfied with air services, followed by food, accommodation, Hajj- training, sightseeing, stone-throwing, Arafa, Mujdalifa, Meena and transportation services (75.8%, 61.9%, 56.8%, 54.3%, 54.3%, 53.4%, 52.5%, 51.3%, and 43.2% respectively. Under the Mann-Whitney U test, pilgrims’ perceptions of tour operators’ services significantly differed based on gender and expenditure of respondents. The results show that satisfaction …

Pilgrim’S Motivations: A Theoretical Approach To Pilgrimage As A Peacebuilding Tool, Sílvia Aulet Serrallonga

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper will explore the relationship between pilgrimage and peacebuilding. Studies on peace refer to three dimensions: peace from a personal dimension and spiritual sphere; peace from a social dimension and; peace from an environmental dimension (Sánchez Sánchez & Fernández Herreira, 1996). The connection between pilgrimage and peacebuilding starts with the individual quest of pilgrims; however, can be explored in the other two dimensions. The experience of pilgrimage and the pilgrims’ quest for inner peace can enhance a respectful attitude towards people and places. Through interviews and observation on two pilgrimage routes in Spain (the Camino de Santiago and Camino …

Spiritual Tourism As A Tool For Sustainability: A Case Study Of Nakhon Phanom Province, Thailand, Preedaree Sirirat

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In the past decade, the number of spiritual tourists in Asia and across the world has rapidly increased, impacting the environment and community lifestyles. This study aimed to develop a practical process of participative education and sustainable tourism activities in the form of spiritual tourism. This involved deploying the concepts of environmental education, community participation, and Buddhist Dharma in an integrated manner. The objectives of the study were: (1) to study the potential for spiritual tourism of destinations in Nakhon Phanom province, (2) to synthesise a spiritual tourism pilot tour project, and (3) to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot …

Pilgrimage As Tourism Experience: The Case Of The Ignatian Way, Marina Abad-Galzacorta, Basagaitz Guereño-Omil, Amaia Makua, José Luis Iriberri, Ricard Santomà

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Nowadays, millions of pilgrims travel every year to a variety of sanctuaries and religious sites (Robles, 2001). The religious motivation to travel is one of the most ancient motivations and it has been researched from diverse perspectives (Griffin, 2007). It is widely recognised that religious tourist is often a more loyal type of tourist, characterised by a shorter but recurrent stays to the visiting destination (Robles, 2001). However, “religious tourism” is sometimes confusing and difficult to classify (Griffin, 2007), and the dichotomy of secular and spiritual tourism needs further clarification (Nolan and Nolan, 1992; Millán et al., 2010). Data from …