Tourism and Travel Commons^™

Kierkegaard’S ‘Repetition’ And Pilgrimage, Stephen F. Haller

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In 1843, the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard wondered whether it was possible to repeat an experience. He attempted to relive experiences he once had in Berlin by revisiting haunts of his earlier self. After several days, he concluded that his repetition of experience was unsuccessful. Many people make similar attempts at repetition when they make, for example, the pilgrimage to Camino de Santiago multiple times. What could a person hope to gain by this repetition?

What prevents successful repetition, suggests Kierkegaard, is beginning with the end in mind rather than traveling merely to collect random impressions. Repetition fails, argues Kierkegaard, when …

Pilgrimage And Its Dual Functions In Iranian Shiitsm, Zahra Khoshk Jan

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Salvation is the main concern not only for theistic religions but also for atheistic ones, therefore, all of them try to offer doctrines for achieving both salvation and redemption in this world or in another world. Followers of the Twelver Shiism strongly believe in salvation through the Imam. Imamat and Imam, do not just refer to a special person, more than that, they involve a spiritual / worldly doctrine toward a complete and multilateral salvation, and also socio-political leadership. One of the important parts of this doctrine that involves spiritual / worldly salvation is intercession via religious rituals like praying, …

Malta: A Differentiated Approach To The Pilgrim-Tourist Dichotomy, George Cassar, Dane Munro

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism is today considered to be a main player in most countries of the world. A particular sector of tourism, pilgrimage and faith-based tourism, has proven to be crises-resistant. The synergy of this sector is a mixture of religious sentiments, demands and motivations and on the other hand there is the rationality of the tourism infrastructure. This paper argues that the islands of the present republic of Malta have been a pilgrims’ destination from Neolithic times to the present. The islands’ rich cultural, religious and historic fabric offers Roman Catholics, Protestants and participants of the New Religious Movements an opportunity …

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 …

Monitoring The Tourism Impact Of A Cultural And Religious Event: A Case Study In Northern Portugal, Carlos Fernandes, Carla Melo, Marta Cardoso

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The Pilgrimage of Our Lady of the Agony (Romaria de Nossa Senhora d ́Agonia), in the north of Portugal, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. Fernandes and Sampaio (2014) suggest that through the years, this event has served to connect residents and visitors alike with the heritage of the region in which the Pilgrimage has become what is arguably one of the biggest regional icons. However, no field research has ever taken place to confirm these claims.

In 2014, a pilot study was carried out using a questionnaire as a basis to evaluate the impact of this event in various …

Event As Spiritual Pilgrimage: A Case Study Of The ‘Cherish’ Christian Women’S Conference, Ruth Dowson

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In examining an aspect of the eventization of faith (Pfadenhauer, 2010), this article considers an annual women’s conference, ‘Cherish’, a church-led event. Due to the pressures on the space available in its former home in the organising church’s campus, the growth in the event’s popularity has resulted in the church organisers moving the event venue to a commercial arena. The research questions the extent to which this popular conference meets the criteria of the academic characteristics of pilgrimage, and aims to clarify to what extent the thousands of women who attend the Cherish conference experience the event - and their …

Religious Tourism And Italian Sacred Mounts: Experiences Of Networking And Co-Operation At A Unesco Site, Raffaella Afferni, Carla Ferrario

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

A Sacred Mount is a historical holy site and former pilgrimage attraction. It is a devotional complex located on a mountain, and composed of a series of chapels and shrines in which scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the saints are represented through paintings and sculptures. In 2003 the Sacred Mounts of Piedmont and Lombardy were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List being considered as representative of something that can be understood, in part, through visitor interactions with the areas in which they are located (see Di Giovine, 2009:208).

The visitors to Sacred Mounts are: …

Pilgrimage, Spiritual Tourism And The Shaping Of Transnational ‘Imagined Communities’: The Case Of The Tidjani Ziyara To Fez, Johara Berriane

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper aims at analysing the role of the transnational Tidjani pilgrimage to Fez in shaping a sense of belonging among West African adepts and their identification with Morocco. It is based on the assumption that the Tidjani pilgrimage has contributed to the shaping of a religious ‘imagined community’ (Anderson, 1996) encompassing West Africa and Morocco and to the reinforcement of the position of Fez as its ‘socio-cultural centre’ (Cohen, 1992). This paper explores the different historical and political factors that contributed to the evolution and maintaining of the Tidjani pilgrimage practice and to giving sense to it, and analyses …

Pilgrimage Experience And Consumption Of Travel To The City Of Makkah For Hajj Ritual, Razaq Raj Dr., Dino Bozonelos

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In modern society which, by definition is increasingly secular and culturally motivated, the Hajj is considered the culmination of each Muslim's religious duty and aspiration. It is stated in the Holy Qur'an, that every physically and financially able Muslim should make the Hajj to the Holy City of Makkah once in his or her lifetime.

This paper explores what people do during their pilgrimage, providing a brief description of the principle rites and experiences and their meaning to an individual participants travelling from the USA. The paper will draw upon previously published literature as well as an analysis of findings …

Religious Activities And Their Tourism Potential In Sukur Kingdom, Nigeria, Emeka Okonkwo

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism is a form of tourism whereby people of the same faith travel individually or in groups for religious purposes. This form of tourism comprises many facets of the travel industry ranging from pilgrimages, missionary travel, leisure (fellowship), vacations, faith-based cruising, crusades, conventions and rallies, retreats, monastery visits and guest-stays, Christian and faith-based camps, to religious tourist attractions. In Sukur Kingdom, most tourists embark on religious travel for the primary purpose of sharing faith and fellowship together as they explore the various religious sites within Sukur and Adamawa State at large. Others still seek inspiration and desire to witness …

Sacral Landscape And Its Influence On The Tourism Space Development In The Region (Based On The Example Of Western Pomerania Region Nw Poland), Tomasz Duda

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Formed through the centuries, cultural landscape of the region includes not only the material realm in the form of numerous historical buildings, monuments and other evidences of local society’s development, but also significant immaterial realm, which manifests itself in the form of spiritual heritage, faith, tradition, customs and language. Interesting, often unique in terms of religious and historical point of view, religious buildings, as well as traditional pilgrimage routes and local shrines are now undeniable qualities, shaping the touristic space of the region. The study of the tourism movement and a detailed valuation analysis of sacred objects showed that the …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Weekend–Trips In Religious Tourism: Insights From Two Cultures, Two Countries (India And Italy), Kiran A. Shinde, Katia Rizello

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper explains peculiarities, significance, and universality of weekend-trips as significant form of religious tourism using a comparative analysis of this phenomenon in two pilgrimage sites from two different cultures (and countries), namely, Vrindavan in India and the Shrine of Santimissi Medici in Italy. The findings derived from a case-study approach and visitors’ survey method confirm that religious tourism falls under the more general category of leisure and that visitors who flock to these places on weekends do not coincide either with general models proposed in the extant literature, nor can they be assimilated to the conventional categories of pilgrims …

The Museumification Of Rumi’S Tomb: Deconstructing Sacred Space At The Mevlana Museum, Rose Aslan

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourists and pilgrims from across Turkey and around the world flock to the tomb of Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), one of the greatest poets and Sufi masters in Islam. Since 1925, the Turkish government has relentlessly struggled to control Islamic influences in society and to channel people’s devotion to the memory of Kemal Ataturk (d. 1938) and his secular ideology. This article argues that by restructuring the layout and presentation of the tomb complex of Rumi, and putting the sacred space through the process of museumification, the Turkish state has attempted to regulate the place in order to control …

Book Reviews Volume 1, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

A selection of book reviews submitted to the Journal

A New Pilgrimage In Portugal: Following The Steps Of Saint Nuno, Carla Braga, Margarida Soares, Miguel Brito

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism is an ever-changing reality. Pilgrimages need different stimuli to attract new followers. In this context we propose to create an itinerary following the steps of Saint Nuno of Santa Maria, canonized in 2009. Nuno Álvares Pereira was the real name of Saint Nuno, who was granted the title Constable of Portugal, and became a historic legend in the independence wars of Portugal during the political crisis of 1383-1385. After fighting against the power of Castile (Spain) he decided to devote his life to religion as a Carmelite Friar. He represents the perfect hero of the Middle Ages - associating …

The Pilgrimage To The San Nicola Shrine In Bari And Its Impact, Katia Rizzello, Anna Trono

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is defined as a journey to the Holy but more specifically as an inner journey to one’s deepest religious feelings. This type of journey has assumed new forms and types that bring it closer to modern tourism in general, though it maintains its distinctive characteristics, which will be the object of this paper. These changes in the nature of pilgrimage, which in part reflect the parallel socio-cultural transformation of the average visitor, have brought about a major reorganisation of the places involved and have had a significant socio-economic impact on the territories involved. The concentration of visitors and in …

Faith Tourism: For A Healthy Environment And A More Sensitive World, Veena Sharma

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The domain of the ‘religious’ / ‘spiritual’ has become a significant source of revenue production for the tourism industry . Faith-based tourism seems to draw increasing numbers of people who wish to travel not just for leisure, or pleasure, but in search of personal meaning and fulfilment in a postmodern capitalist world.

Though undertaken as a physical journey, pilgrimage seems to be embedded in the traveller’s wish for some kind of personal transformation. The journey is often distinguished from regular travel through its inherent call for a letting-go, be it of mental constructs, pathologies, personal and social conditioning, artefacts, logic …

Introducing The International Journal Of Religious Tourism And Pilgrimage

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Welcome and Introduction to the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage