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Tourists, Pilgrims And Cultural Routes: The Case Of The Kumano Kodo Route In Japan, Polyxeni Moira, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Georgia Konstantinou

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Cultural Routes are one of the most important tools for the promotion and the interpretation of cultural heritage. They are itineraries designed around a core theme and they include, inter alia, monuments of archaeological or historical interest, architectural monuments, industrial heritage buildings, religious heritage edifices, traditional settlements, spiritual places. In Japan, one of the most important routes, in Kii Mountain Range, is the Kumano Kodo religious-cultural route. The route reflects the merging of the ancient worship of nature – which is believed to be inhabited by Gods or spirits - Shintoism and Buddhism. The route, due to its great importance, …

The Winning Narrative: The Social Genesis Of Pilgrimage Sites, Stephen F. Haller, Dane Munro Km

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

While pilgrimage sites may be sparked by historical events, their meaning is created by their accompanying narratives. A pilgrimage site becomes sacred to visitors not merely because of scripture, or supposed religious facts, but also because of social and psychological contexts. It is their winning narrative that supplies meaning and a framework for understanding. Without such narratives, it is conceivable that some pilgrimage sites would not have gained their enduring popularity and international appeal. This article not only describes a few instances of such sites rising to fame, but also the philosophy behind a winning narrative.

The idea that narrative …

Volume 9(Iii) Table Of Contents, Danijel Pavlović, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Memory, Imagination, Identity: Pilgrimage And Portraiture In Medieval And Early Modern Europe, Helena Guzik

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Despite the wealth of material and textual evidence attesting to the practice of Christian pilgrimage throughout history, comprehending an individual’s understanding of pilgrimage in relation to his or her own identity has always proved challenging. Pilgrimage studies scholars have tended to look to travel accounts, chronicles, and collected pilgrim souvenirs to discern how pilgrims were affected by and responded to their experiences. One form of source material that has gone largely underexamined in this regard is the genre of portraiture. This article explores how and why the concept of pilgrimage could be incorporated into the self-fashioned images of patrons in …

(Re)Creating A Pilgrimage: A Century Of Pilgrimage Reports From Jesuit Novices In Canada (1864-1968), Rev. André Brouillette

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In 1864, a new type of pilgrimage was implemented in Canada: the Jesuit novitiate pilgrimage. Since the creation of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540, a month-long pilgrimage is one experience required of new members. This formative moment has been enshrined in the Constitutions of the order. The experience is also reminiscent of the journey of the founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), who went to Jerusalem as a young man desirous to imitate Christ, and later applied the moniker ‘the pilgrim’ to himself in an account of his life confided in Luis Gonçalves da Câmara (1555). Pilgrimage was …

The Kartarpur Pilgrimage Corridor: Negotiating The ‘Line Of Mutual Hatred’, Anna V. Bochkovskaya

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

After the partition of British India in 1947, many pilgrimage sites important for the Sikhs – followers of a medieval poet-mystic and philosopher Guru Nanak (1469-1539) – turned out to be at different sides of the India-Pakistani border. The towns of Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur (Guru Nanak’s birthplace, and residence for the last 18 years of his life, respectively) remained within Pakistani territory. Gurdwaras located there represent utmost pilgrimage destinations, the Sikhs’ ‘Mecca and Medina’.

Owing to Indian-Pakistani relations that have deteriorated throughout seven decades, pilgrimage to Kartarpur has been extremely difficult for India’s citizens. Nevertheless, in the late 1990s, …

Mount Hermon (Jabal El Sheikh) In Lebanon, A Sacred Biblical Mountain: Pilgrimages, Traditions And Rituals, Nour Farra Haddad

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Mount Hermon, also known as Jabal El Haramoun or Jabal El Sheikh, is the highest peak in the Anti-Lebanon eastern mountain chain, located between Lebanon, Syria, and the Israeli- Palestinian territories. Since antiquity, this mountain has been considered holy, a fact to which many archaeological remains bear testament. At present, one can count hundreds of religious sites from different religious communities including Christians – Maronite, Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical – as well as Sunnis and Druze. In the Bible we can find more than 70 references to Mount Hermon. It is said locally that Jesus Christ was transfigured at its …

Pilgrimage To A Greek Island Shrine, Evy Johanne Håland

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In modern Greece, the festival dedicated to the ‘Dormition’ of the Panagia (‘the All-Holy One’), who is the Virgin Mary, is celebrated on 15 August. On Tinos, in the island group of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, this fertility- and healing-festival dedicated to the Dormition of the Panagia is particularly important due to several reasons. The Church of the Panagia, Euangelistria (‘the Annunciation’), owes its fame to a miraculous holy icon (image) of the Annunciation, which was unearthed in a field in 1823. Since then, the miracles worked by this icon have made Tinos a centre of Pan-Orthodox worship, …

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 …

Review Of: Religious Tourism And The Environment, Jaeyeon Choe

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Despite increasing scholarly attention on the environmental impacts of tourism, there has been little research on the environmental impacts of religious tourism and pilgrimage. As the oldest form of tourism, millions of people continue to travel to sacred places across the globe each year. In addition, despite the continuous growth of religious festivals and ceremonies at sacred sites such as Kumbh Mela, India, the impact of religious tourism on the environment and its role in the sustainable development of destinations is under explored. Religious Tourism and Environment edited by Kiran A. Shinde and Daniel H. Olsen is an original edited …

Going Beyond A Pilgrimage: The Feast Day Of Saint George In Lod-Israel, Mustafa Diktaş

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religion and spirituality are common motivations for travel, with many major tourist destinations having developed largely because of their connections to sacred people, places and events. Pilgrimages are one of the most important forms domestic tourism in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. On November 16 of every year, the church of St. George in Lod is filled with hundreds of worshippers who arrive for the Feast of St. George / Khidr, the day commemorating the translation of his relics to the church at the heart of Lod. Pilgrims travel from Nazareth and Bethlehem and as far away as Jordan to …

‘We Were Very Much Surprised At Their Worship’: American Girls And Religious Tourism In The Early Republic, 1780-1835, Sharon Halevi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Following the Revolution, the United States formally embraced the ideal and practice of religious freedom. But how was this ideal instilled and practiced? Could a form of pilgrimage have been mobilised in order to inculcate it? In this article I argue that in the early American republic, religious freedom was demonstrated and imparted to adolescents through a unique form of pilgrimage: visiting and attending the worship services of religious minorities while on tour. I demonstrate my argument by considering the travel accounts of fifteen, Protestant, American adolescent girls (aged 10 to 21) between 1782 and 1835; I trace their visits …

Ijrtp Title Page And Table Of Contents Vol. 8(8), Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Religious Travel: Present And Future Trends, Daniel H. Olsen, Dallen Timothy

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has had dramatic effects on both the health and economic stability of countries around the world. While several scholars and media commentators have suggested that the pandemic would be a good time to reset an unsustainable tourism system, left out of these discussions has been the impacts on religion and religious travel. The purpose of this paper is to review the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion and religious travel, including the tensions that have arisen between religious communities, governments and health officials. The paper then discusses potential futures regarding religious travel in a …

Precautions Taken Against The Covid-19 By Presidency Of Religious Affairs In Terms Of Hajj And Umrah Pilgrimage: The Case Of Turkey, Onur Akbulut, Yakin Ekin

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The gathering of people in a concentrated manner within particular spaces / places has become a serious issue during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Mass gatherings of individuals seem to be investigated intensively by researchers both in these days and will be further in the forthcoming years. Religion-oriented gatherings are of great importance because they have spiritual motivation for the ones who practice them. For many participants, these gatherings are essential at least once in their life. As is seen from its very nature, religious motivation is one of the most potent subjects to be considered in terms of mass gatherings. …

Padre Pio, Pandemic Saint: The Effects Of The Spanish Flu And Covid-19 On Pilgrimage And Devotion To The World’S Most Popular Saint, Michael A. Di Giovine

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In the Catholic world, pilgrimages and other devotional rituals are often undertaken to foster healing and well-being. Thus, shrines dedicated to saints are particularly relevant in times of pandemic. Pilgrimage to the shrines associated with 20th century Italian stigmatic, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, known as one of the Catholic world’s most popular saints, is particularly informed by this notion, as Pio is understood as a healing saint thanks to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy that marked his ministry during his lifetime, as well as belief in the miraculous nature of his relics. Pio’s hometown of Pietrelcina and …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Religious Tourism And Pilgrimage To The Holy City Of Karbala, Hadil Faris, Kevin A. Griffin

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism and pilgrimage around the world have changed dramatically in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, thousands of sacred placed closed their doors; religious leaders appealed to their followers not to perform their spiritual or pilgrimage journeys for their own and others safety. The holy city of Karbala, like any other sacred place is affected by the pandemic; every year, the holy city of Karbala witnesses the convergence of millions of pilgrims, being among the most important pilgrims for Shia Muslims. Of particular importance for these pilgrims is Ashura, which marks the day that Hussain bin Ali, the grandson of …

A Discussion Of The Practical And Theological Impacts Of Covid-19 On Religious Worship, Events And Pilgrimage, From A Christian Perspective, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This article explores the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on the worship services and events of Christian communities. Focusing on the UK in terms of practice, the research includes early pandemic examples from a range of Christian traditions and denominations, as well as relevant cases from other countries. The Christian church organisations considered range from the extensive world-wide reaches of the Roman Catholic Church, to international Protestant denominations such as the Anglican Communion, and to independent non-denominational groupings and local churches. This paper considers the ways in which churches are coming to terms with the impacts of this …

The Impact Of Coronavirus On Religious Tourism: Is This The End Of Pilgrimage?, Maximiliano E. Korstanje

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The present paper, attends to the theme of COVID-19 and its negative effects on the tourism and pilgrimage industries. To be honest, although conclusive findings on this topic are premature in view of the velocity of facts, no less true seems to be that COVID-19 reaffirms a tendency originally stipulated just after 9/11 and declaration of the War On Terror by Bush’s administration. COVID-19 not only has shocked the world cancelling international flights, closing borders and airspaces, making irreparable damages to tourism and hospitality but it has operated on a much deeper level, developing a culture of fear, where ‘other’ …

Reflecting On The Impact Of Covid-19 On Religious Tourism And Pilgrimage, Razaq Raj, Kevin A. Griffin

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

COVID-19 is devastating the religious tourism industry in terms of economic, social, food, employment and faith related impacts. Pilgrimages are being stopped, and mass gatherings are halted. We are in middle of a very difficult time for the religious tourism industry and this has become a major concern for governments around the world. The leading nations such as USA, UK, Italy, Spain, Japan, Russia, Germany and China are struggling to control the COVID-19 pandemic. We are facing the biggest test of the tourism industry in over half a century, one which has exceeded the downturn of the 9/11 terrorism attacks. …

Religious Pilgrimage: Experiencing Places, Objects And Events, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This article explores the concept of the Eventization of faith (Pfadenhauer, 2010) through application of three case studies, to identify learning that might be applied to a traditional pilgrimage destination, such as Jerusalem. This Holy City is held sacred by the three Abrahamic religions, and faith-based tourism is central both to the Holy Land and to the city of Jerusalem (Leppakari & Griffin, 2017).

This paper builds on research that identifies processes and models that provide insight into the developing concept of the eventization of faith. The work examines outcomes from three different perspectives:

- The impact of traditional church-led …

Too Much Light: The Art Of The Hero’S Journey (Photo Essay), Karen Adler, Teresa Mclaren

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

We live in an age in which spiritual searching and seeking is more common, particularly among the youth. The need for answers and solutions to a world in danger of dying, of a society in which corruption and decay are so transparently obvious, leads many on paths which are dangerous and uncharted. The metaphor of journey, the practice of pilgrimage, the art of navigation, all contain the notion of process and movement rather than stagnation. They provide us with tools to not only emerge whole from experiences which have the power to break and shatter us but to provide maps …

Mount Banahaw’S Enigma Of Power: A Personal Reflection On Signs And Symbols At The Santa Lucia Complex, Katherine B. Arceta

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In the Philippines, Mount Banahaw in Quezon province is a pilgrimage site for locals and believers alike. Considered a holy mountain or even a ‘new’ Jerusalem in a mystical sense, people flock to its forested sacred sites or puwestos. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify signs and symbols within the sacred space of Mount Banahaw; (2) to explain how signs and symbols within the mountain are able to convey various religious meanings to the worshippers and; (3) to understand how pilgrims derive and interpret the meanings associated with these signs and symbols. The author retraces a pilgrim’s …

“This Trip Is Very Meaningful To Me, So I Want To Remember It Forever”: Pilgrim Tattoos In Santiago De Compostela, Christian Kurrat, Patrick Heiser

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrim tattoos have come into fashion: in Santiago de Compostela, the destination of all Ways of St. James, tattoo studios are springing up and in social networks, corresponding photographs can be found more and more often. In this paper we present the results of a survey of pilgrims who have been tattooed after their pilgrimage (N=256). It turns out that certain symbols and body parts are particularly popular among pilgrim tattoos. The tattooing practice of pilgrims also depends strongly on age, nationality and previous tattoos. The central features of the pilgrimage itself, on the other hand, have only a weak …

The Imprint Of The Pilgrimage An Ethnography Of A Tattoo Studio In Jerusalem, Mustafa Diktaş

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Several major religions exhibit complex attitudes towards self-mutilation and adornment. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity forbid marking the body and associate it with sin. Still, many people apparently have continued to feel a need for confirmation of their religion and their religious journeys by marking their bodies. This ethnographic study focuses on the recent situation in pilgrimage tattooing, utilising the local and daily processes of a tattoo shop called Razzouk Tattoo located in the Christian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem. The aim of this paper is not only to give a panoptic view of the tattoo studio but also …

Ijrtp Title Page And Table Of Contents Vol. 8(5), Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes, Daniel H. Olsen

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Pilgrimage Circuit Of Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove And Shrine, Osun State, Nigeria, Emeka E. Okonkwo, Afamefuna P. Eyisi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

One religious tourism destination site of note in Southwestern Nigeria is the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove and Shrine, located along the banks of the Osun River in the city of Oshogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. The sacred grove and shrine was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005. This paper examines the routes and trails people take to get to Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove and Shrine with a view to evaluating access to the destination site as well as the factors impacting on the sacred grove. The study uses ethnographic methods to elicit information from respondents and data collected …

(Re)Inscribing Meaning: Embodied Religious-Spiritual Practices At Croagh Patrick And Our Lady’S Island, Ireland, Richard Scriven, Eoin O'Mahony

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Responding to calls for critical interrogations of pilgrimages, our paper examines how different religious meanings are (re)inscribed in spaces through the performance of annual events in a post-secular context. This focus reveals how pilgrims’ embodied practices are fundamental to continuing definitions of these locations as sacred places. Using accounts of the Croagh Patrick and Our Lady’s Island pilgrimages in Ireland, we trace the movement of people in these spaces focusing on how meanings are forged, refracted, and challenged through the performances. These mass embodiments assert traditional understandings of Christian worship and looser spiritual interpretations, while simultaneously involving secular concerns. The …

Opportunities And Challenges Of Religious Tourism Development In Uganda: Policy, Planning And Institutional Perspectives, Jim Ayorekire, Joseph Obua, Francis Mugizi, Bruce Micheal Byaruhanga

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism is a steadily growing tourism product niche in Uganda after wildlife-based tourism. However, limited research has curtailed planning and development of religious tourism in the country. As a contribution to knowledge on his subject, this paper analyses the tourism policy, planning and institutional frameworks as a precursor to harnessing the potential of religious tourism in the country. Applying a mixed methods approach, the evolution of religious tourism in Uganda was reviewed. To examine actor perceptions and benefits of religious tourism, two case studies were undertaken with the help of a structured questionnaire and key informant interviews. A SWOT …

Pilgrimage As A Field Of Tourism Development: The Case Of Kavala (Northern Greece) And Its Institutional And Cultural Challenges, Thomas Bausch, Tilman Schröder, Alexey Gunya

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Developing pilgrimage tourism requires a set of unique attractors, as well as efficient destination governance structures that manage such attractors and balance stakeholder interests. This study analyses the development of pilgrimage tourism in Kavala (Northern Greece), a city with unique religious and cultural attractors connected to the Apostle Paul. By deploying a mix of literature review, on-site analysis and interviews with twelve local stakeholders, this paper first examines the general potential for pilgrimage tourism in the region and gives recommendations for its development. Subsequently, the study evaluates the progress of pilgrimage tourism development in Kavala after one year. The findings …