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Perspectives On Holy Springs As A Religious Tourism Resource: A Comparative Study Of The Baltic States And India, Janis Bikse, Mahender Reddy Gavinolla

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Holy springs played an immense role in religious tourism globally over centuries. It is widely believed that visiting holy springs as part of religious practice symbolises the washing away of sins and enhances ones’ health condition and well-being. Both in India and the Baltic States, a significant number of holy springs have various religious significances. However, over a period of time, due to changes in socio-cultural and political conditions, the use of springs for religious purposes and health reasons has also changed. The aim of this article is to analyse the change in the use of holy springs as religious …

Conceptualising Heritage Routes For Tourism: The Miracle Of The Roses, Isilda Leitão, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In this article, a preliminary exploratory study is undertaken to cover a lesser researched topic in the tourism literature concerning the conceptualisation of heritage-based routes. A route of less-known heritage that crosses a territory with varied cultures is proposed. It is intended that the route contributes to the practice of creating itineraries for tourists. The route extends from Central Europe to the Iberian Peninsula and is related to historical and mythical legacies of Elisabeth of Hungary (1207-1231); Landgrave of Thuringia and; Isabel (Elisabeth), Princess of Aragon (1270?-1336) and Queen of Portugal. In this research, we opt for a qualitative approach, …

Finding Data Pathways Through The ‘Pandemic Pilgrimage Boom’: Embedded-Like Research, Covid-19, And The British Pilgrimage Trust, Eleanor O’Keeffe

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This article reviews claims that the United Kingdom experienced a ‘pandemic pilgrimage boom’. It contributes findings from an ‘embedded-like’ research project, which drew on data created by the British Pilgrimage Trust (BPT) – a heritage and wellbeing charity that hosts a website hub to support pilgrimage action in the UK – to debate about the impact of COVID-19 on pilgrimage practice. These findings show how a set of uses and meanings about pilgrimage, particularly its affordances for mental health and emotional wellbeing, have resonated during the pandemic, especially at moments of heightened social stress. This has generated greater social traction …

From Food To Religion: Two Case Studies In The South Of Italy, Antonietta Ivona, Donatella Privitera

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This research aims to understand the connection between food and religious events and how they have become a focus of new tourist routes in the ‘year of the restart’, a time period marked by the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The combination of religion and food seems to be successful in attracting tourists in the new scenarios created by the pandemic. The research aims to examine the potential for combining religious tourism with local food to enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of destinations, using two case studies from Saint Aghata in Catania and Saint Nicholas in Bari, Italy. The findings …

Managing Digital Media During The Lockdown: The Case Of Sanctuaries In Lazio, Italy, Marc-Marie Mutangala, Lorenzo Cantoni

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The period of the first COVID-19 total lockdown in Italy and in the world offered a very interesting context to evaluate the use of Mobile Information and Communication Technologies (MICTs) by Catholic shrines for their pastoral care. This research was carried out through a survey and interviews with leaders (rectors) of sanctuaries of Lazio, the region of Italy where Rome is placed. The sample chosen evaluates which initiatives the rectors of these sanctuaries have undertaken to keep in touch with the faithful and other constituencies during the first pandemic lockdown. As in the case of telework, which allowed working at …

Developing Pilgrimage Tourism In Latin America: Lessons Learned From The Camino De Santiago, María Carmen Pardo, Mónica Cecilia Cortés García, Goretti Silva

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The Camino of Santiago has demonstrated its role as a strategic factor in the socio-economic development of territories. This paper presents a ‘tool kit’ based on Best Practice, aiming at designing, developing and operating pilgrimage routes in Latin America, inspired by the lessons learned from the Camino de Santiago strategies and policies. The methodology of the research for this paper is open-ended questionnaires to experts and institutions and online surveys to pilgrims. It also builds on a review of academic literature.

The findings show that Latin America is a traditionally religious territory, with a high percentage of the population belonging …

Potential Of The European Cultural Route Of Saints Cyril And Methodius For The Development Of Cultural Tourism, Peter Ivanič, Hilda Kramáreková, Alfred Krogmann, Henrich Grežo, Lucia Petrikovičová

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius was established in 2021 as a certified route within the program of Cultural Routes managed by the Council of Europe. The idea was to connect places with the Cyrillo-Methodian and Great Moravian traditions. The development of this cultural route is managed by the European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius with a Permanent Secretariat in Zlín in the Czech Republic. The association currently has 23 members from 8 countries (CZ, SK, GR, SI, HU, BG, HR and IT). The Cultural Routes Program of the Council of Europe, which has been in …

Pilgrimage And Paradigm Shifts: The Role Of Experience In Identity Transformations, Stephen F. Haller

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Some kinds of knowledge can only be acquired by direct experience. Engaging in a pilgrimage can transform a person by allowing them to inhabit different worldviews, or paradigms, that would otherwise remain inaccessible to them. The pilgrim then learns to see the world in a new and different way; has ideas not imagined before the experience, and; may even change their life in ways unforeseen before the pilgrimage. It is uncertain just how, and in what unexpected ways, one might change. Most often these changes are welcomed; however, it is unclear whether one’s prepilgrim- self, before the change, would approve …

Editorial: The 13th Annual International Religious Tourism & Pilgrimage Conference In Vilnius, Darius Liutikas

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Ijrtp Volume 11(Iv) Table Of Contents, Darius Liutikas, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Examining The Pilgrims’ Experience: Communitas Along The Camino De Santiago, Snežana Brumec

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

To what extent does the community formed among pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago correspond to Turner’s concept of communitas? How might pilgrimage with significant others differ from individual pilgrimages in the sense of community? This study attempts to answer these questions based on qualitative and quantitative content analysis of 32 travelogues written by pilgrims who completed the pilgrimage alone or with relatives or friends. The findings show that pilgrims develop an egalitarian and creative community that prevails the notion of a generic bond between people, an intense comradeship and generous common friendliness. In such a community, pilgrims’ behaviour is …

The Family Pilgrimage To Santiago, Adeline Rucquoi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The presence of women on the roads to Santiago since the beginning of the pilgrimage is becoming better known. The texts show that family pilgrimages, of children with their parents, of sons with their fathers or of daughters with their mothers, are not just a contemporary phenomenon.

Family Pilgrimage Along The Camino De Santiago In Poland: Forms, Conditions And Prospects For Development, Franciszek Mróz, Sławomir Tykarski, Marcin Gazda

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study presents an analysis of the forms of family pilgrimage along the Polish sections of the Way of St. James. The purpose of the research is to understand the current status of family pilgrimage along the route to Santiago de Compostela in Poland, as well as to specify the determinants of the development of this type of pilgrimage. The forms of family pilgrimage along the Way of St. James in Poland and the importance of such pilgrimages in deepening intra-family relations are presented based on interviews and testimonies collected, as well as on several years of experience in organising …

A Semester On The Road To Santiago: The Long-Term Impacts Of Walking The Camino De Santiago With A Family-Like Study Abroad Group, Douglas Challenger

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In this paper, research findings are presented from a small, longitudinal study using qualitative data on the long-term impacts of a unique, semester-long, study abroad program at Franklin Pierce University. In this programme, students study the history and contemporary renaissance of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage and then walk the entire route in northern Spain as pilgrims. Alumni who participated in one of four trips conducted in the fall of 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 were asked in 2022 to respond to five open-ended questions about how their semester abroad impacted their lives, to what degree they thought their study-abroad …

Family Pilgrimage On The Camino De Santiago In Spain: Typology And Impact, Piotr Roszak, Jesus Tanco

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This article presents an analysis of contemporary forms of family pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and prospect for its development after the pandemic of 2021-2022. Based on information about family pilgrimages in Spain, we examine its therapeutic benefits, its challenges and difficulties, and its place within competing forms of pilgrimage. The ‘family modality’ extends to pilgrimage within any intentional family, such as one’s academic and professional companions, recovering addicts traveling for mutual support, like-minded religious confraternities sharing a communal experience of the journey, and pilgrims trekking on behalf of family members left behind as a manifestation of voluntary surrogate pilgrimage.

Family Pilgrimage: An Introduction, Kathleen E. Jenkins, Piotr Roszak

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Ijrtp Volume 11(Iii) Table Of Contents, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes, Piotr Roszak, Kathleen E. Jenkins

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Religious Tourism Demand And Country Prosperity: An Empirical Study Of Saudi Arabia, Eman Mealith Alanzi, Nada Kulendran, Thu-Huong Nguyen

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study examines the impact of destination prosperity level on religious tourism flows to Saudi Arabia. The model was empirically tested for a panel of 21 countries from 2000 to 2019. Dynamic panel gravity models were estimated using the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) difference approach. The study found that the human rights index and prosperity index, word of mouth, Saudi Arabian income, origin country income and investment in tourism at the destination all had a positive and significant impact on religious tourism demand. In contrast, the cost of travel and cost of living at the destination, political risk, visa …

How Review Valence Benefits Umrah Sales Performance: The Moderating Role Of Price, Muhamad Izaidi Ishak, Amran Harun

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The influence of online consumer reviews on a firm’s sales performance has not yet been investigated in the field of Umrah. In addition, the literature does not explain how price moderates the relationship between online consumer reviews and a firm’s sales performance. Thus, the research objective of this paper is to examine the influence of Umrah online consumer reviews, specifically review valence, on Umrah operator sales performance, with Umrah package price acting as the moderator. 82 Malaysian Umrah operators were involved in this study. The secondary data for Umrah online consumer reviews were collected from Google Maps reviews, which matched …

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, …

Nunneries And Pâtisseries: Tourists’ Gastronomic Experiences At Sacred Sites, Diolinda Ramírez-Gutiérrez

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This work traces the experiences spontaneously expressed by travellers who stop at convents throughout Spain to admire their cultural heritage and also to taste their typical pastries. The aim of this study is to analyse the dialectical relationship between the sacred and the profane in heritage and its tourism context, through content analysis and the narrative generated in a social network for tourists. The initial hypothesis is based on possible cultural differences in the characterisation of the experience of visiting these sacred spaces where pastries have been consumed and in the existence of a differentiated pattern association between different levels: …

Applying The Extended Theory Of Planned Behaviour (Tpb) To Predict Behavioural Intention In The Context Of Transformational Tourism: A Case Of Nizamuddin Shrine, Samiha Siddiqui, Sujood ., Sheeba Hamid

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The term ‘transformational tourism’ refers to a burgeoning subset of the travel market that goes well beyond the more established categories of just spiritual and religious tourism. This paper aims at examining tourists’ intentions to visit the Nizamuddin Shrine (Delhi) as a transformational tourism destination. The framework incorporates the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) i.e. Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioural Control with an additional construct, Motivation. A Google forms online survey was employed to gather data. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS software was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. A sample of 388 respondents was …

The Spiritual Migrants Of Sogenji: Notes Of Participant Observation In A Rinzai Zen Temple, Andrei-Razvan Coltea

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Anomie is a cultural pathology that is becoming chronic in the West, characterized by the erosion of values, disintegration and deregulation. Amongst its symptoms we find anxiety, isolation, depression, tribalism, incoherence and loss of meaning. Individuo-globalism is a new ideology that permeates the religious market created by globalisation, encouraging individuals to discover, nurture and express their ‘true self’. This new spirituality forms the background for a journey that our ‘heroes’, a handful of non-Japanese inhabitants of a Japanese Rinzai Zen monastery, have been undertaking for years in search of the philosopher’s stone that could cure anomie and its symptoms. At …

Tourism Potential & Challenges For Islamic Monastery Heritage Sites In Ethiopia: Tiru Sina Mosque, Tesfaye Fentaw Nigatu, Endris A. Haider, Zelalem G. Ambaw

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The main intent of this study is to investigate unusual Islamic monastery heritage sites by focusing on the potential resources and challenges for religious tourism development at Tiru Sina Mosque. To meet this objective a qualitative approach was utilised and data were collected through interviews with elderly religious fathers in addition to culture and tourism officers. Additional focus groups, discussions and deep personal observations were conducted. As the findings reveal, Tiru Sina Mosque is a unique Islamic monastic site with great potential for religious tourism development. This unique Islamic monastery heritage site has socio-cultural, economic, historical, religious and aesthetic values. …

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 …

Ijrtp Volume 11(Ii) Table Of Contents, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Tariqa Shattariyya (Ts) And Spiritual Tourism In Pariaman, Indonesia, Ziaulhaq Hidayat

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tariqa Shattariyya (TS) is a transnational spiritual flow that has become part of the Pariaman community’s culture in Indonesia. This movement exists at all levels of the people, and is exemplivied in the Basapa ceremony, which is an example of spiritual tourism in the TS tradition. The Basapa ceremony has succeeded in engaging the local community and visitors in a range of spiritual activity performances. This study aims to evaluate Tariqa Shattariyya (TS) in Pariaman, Indonesia. A qualitative approach is used to explore, understand, and interpret the data obtained. The data collected were sourced from pilgrims, grave managers, traders, and …

Intention To Revisit The Chariot Festival (Ratha Yatra): An Experience Economy Approach, Prakash Chandra Dash Dr., Mrutyunjay Dash Dr., Chandrakanta Sahoo Dr.

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The present study addresses visitors’ experiences at the world-famous Chariot Festival - Ratha Yatra - which is held every year at Shri Kshetra, Puri Dham in the state of Odisha, India. Empirical evidence is used to analyse how each of the experience dimension affects the overall event and to assess the likelihood of revisiting. In order to develop a conceptual framework for the study, a thorough review of the literature was conducted. The conceptual framework was then tested using a quantitative approach, in which data were gathered from a convenience sample of 295 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. Finally, Structural …

Bukit Kasih Kanonang As A Religious Tourism Site Based On Local Wisdom Of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Joesana Tjahjani, Sonya Indriati Sondakh

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Bukit Kasih Kanonang (Kanonang Love Hill) is a place of worship for Christians of the Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi, one of the provinces of Indonesia, which in its development has also become a popular tourist destination. As a site that blends Christian elements, local traditional elements and values of tolerance among the world’s major religions namely Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, this beautiful piece of land includes a number of sites such as a monument to tolerance, a house of worship for each religion, a giant crucifix, statues, and the faces of Minahasan ancestors carved into cliff faces. All these …

Mapping Pilgrims’ Experience Of Walking The Saint James Way Through The Lens Of Self-Regulation, Clara Vieira, Jennifer Cunha, Ana Rita Nunes, Luísa Mota Ribeiro, Pedro Rosário

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The Way of St. James is a very well-known and ancient pilgrimage, with various routes leading pilgrims to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where the remains of Saint James are buried. Over the last few years, the experience of the pilgrimage and the growing number of pilgrims walking the Saint James Way have been attracting researchers’ attention. However, studies attempting to understand the pilgrims’ experience using a self-regulation lens are limited. Self-regulation may be defined as efforts made to manage individuals’ thoughts, emotions, and behaviours in the pursuit of long-term goals. Therefore, rooted in the self-regulation framework, …