Tourism Commons^™

C2) Integrating Sustainability Into Religious Tourism And Pilgrimage, Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq G. Raj Dr

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

As a global phenomenon, involving the movement of hundreds of millions of people per year, religious tourism and pilgrimage has an immense impact on economies, environments and societies. This paper investigates the complex interplay of religious travel and sustainable development.

Mass pilgrimages to sacred sites can lead to localised environmental degradation, the commercialisation of cultural heritage, the erosion of spirituality, but it can also reinvigorate religious practice, generate income and lead to respect for the environment.

This paper explores holistic ways for managing religious destinations. Drawing on international case studies, the paper identifies key strategies to minimise and mitigate the …

D2) The Phygital Pilgrim: Navigating Hybrid Sacred Experiences At The World Youth Day Jubilee 2025 In Rome, Justyna Liro, Elżbieta Bilska-Wodecka

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Religious tourism is undergoing a profound transformation where the boundaries between physical presence and digital engagement are increasingly blurred. This paper presents first results from research analysing the World Youth Day Jubilee 2025 in Rome, examining the event as a "living laboratory" for digitized religious mobility. The study focuses on how hybrid ("phygital") environments redefine the contemporary religious experience and influence spatial behaviours.

Moving beyond the traditional dichotomy of online versus offline, this study examines the pilgrimage as a "platformed experience," co-produced by material urban settings and the communicative logic of social media. The research employs a robust mixed-method design, …

C3) Green Spiritual Tourism And Sacred Landscape Experience On Mount Emei, China, Feiran Yang, Katia Hueso Kotekaas Dr

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Mount Emei (China), one of Buddhism’s Four Sacred Mountains and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracts pilgrims and leisure visitors seeking spiritual meaning, nature connection and wellbeing. Yet East Asian sacred mountain traditions remain under-represented in religious tourism debates, particularly regarding how sacred landscape, ritual practice and ecological philosophies co-produce visitor experience. This research examines green spiritual tourism on Mount Emei by integrating restorative environments theory, nature connectedness, authenticity scholarship, and Turner’s concepts of liminality and communitas. Methodology adopts a qualitative case-study design, combining participant observation along sacred trails and at key temples with semi-structured interviews with pilgrims, leisure tourists, …

D1) Pilgrimage Routes As Spaces Of Interaction: Shared Experiences Of Blind And Sighted Participants, Jolanta Kručkauskaitė

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This presentation examines pilgrimage routes as spaces of interaction in which blind and sighted participants create shared experiences by traveling together. In this context, pilgrimage is understood not only as a religious or touristic practice, but also as a sociocultural activity that enables social and educational interaction.

Drawing on the concepts of educational interaction, social inclusion, and phenomenological experience, the presentation addresses how walking together along pilgrimage routes shapes relationships between blind and sighted participants, how attitudes toward visual impairment change, and how the pilgrimage route becomes a space for mutual learning. Particular attention is given to the multisensory dimension …

C1) Authenticity, Multifunctionality, And Sustainability In Religious Tourism: The Case Of The Strahov Monastery In Prague, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Polyxeni G. Moira Dr

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This article examines the dynamics of historic monastic complexes as multifunctional religious spaces in the context of contemporary religious and cultural tourism, focusing on Strahov Monastery in Prague. The study recognizes that these historical sites currently operate in a complex field that intersects sacred tradition with the demands of the tourism market.

A key theoretical starting point is the need for a conceptual distinction between pilgrimage and religious tourism, as well as the difficulty of accurately capturing visitors' motivations. These motivations often fall within a spectrum that includes spiritual, cultural, and recreational motivations. In this context, the Strahov Monastery is …

D4) From ‘Non-Places’ To Meaningful Places: Lourdes And Camino Lituano Cases, Marius Minkevičius, Elżbieta Bilska-Wodecka

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

How pilgrimage routes shape cultural heritage practices, place attachment, and the risk of places becoming “non-places” (Augé, 2008).

This presentation contrasts two models of pilgrimage route development. Institutionalized, top-down pilgrimage routes, often embedded in tourism and heritage policies, tend to prioritize economic growth and commercialization. Prominent pilgrimage destinations such as Lourdes (Kaufman, 2005) exemplify how top-down management can transform sacred spaces into functional “non-places” (Augé, 2008), privileging consumption and large-scale flows. This raises questions about whether pilgrimage can retain spiritual meaningfulness under increasingly market-driven logics.

In contrast, community-driven, bottom-up pilgrimage routes provide an alternative model, where social and moral commitments, …

B1) The Implementation Of Digital Tools In The Interpretation Of Heritage From A Cultural And Pastoral Perspective, Silvia Aulet, Anna Gili Vilanova-Prat

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The digitisation of cultural languages supposes new challenges and opportunities in the interpretation of religious heritage. From a theoretical perspective, sacred sites can be understood as symbolic realities where material and immaterial dimensions converge. Sacred places are not only architectural containers, but spaces of meaning that articulate identity, memory and transcendence (Aulet & Vidal, 2018).

The preservation of the meaning, identity and original function of sacred spaces in contexts of high tourist accessibility (Aulet & Duda, 2020). Technology, far from being a merely instrumental element, can act as a symbolic mediation that reinforces this sustainability if it contributes to improving …

B3) Ai-Enabled Religious Pilgrimage: A Human Centred Sacred Framework For Authenticity And Responsible Transformation, Parichay Parivesh, Razaq Gili Raj

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This paper examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping pilgrimage tourism in India by mediating the practical, emotional and spiritual dimensions of sacred travel. While AI is increasingly used in tourism for personalised recommendations, multilingual assistance, predictive crowd management, virtual interpretation and service automation, its application in religious travel requires deeper cultural and ethical reflection. Using India’s large and diverse pilgrimage ecosystem as the focal context, the paper argues that AI should not be treated merely as a tool for efficiency, but as a socio-technical mediator that influences access, authenticity, ritual participation, trust and post-journey meaning-making.

The paper proposes a Human-Centred …

A3) Reconstructing Sacredness In The Digital Age: Mobile Digital Sacred Spaces And Transformative Experiences In Heritage, Dong Wang, Silvia Gili Aulet

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This study explores the reconstruction of sacredness and cultural meaning in digital immersive experiences at religious heritage sites. Traditional sacredness is rooted in physical space and material authenticity, while the Longmen Grottoes (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and important Buddhist destination in China) is accelerating digital transformation through mobile-based digital incense offerings, algorithmic "Buddha affinity" matching and digital twin visualization platforms, breaking the classical ontology of fixed sacred space.

Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, this study defines digital atmosphere, narrative engagement and interactive rituality as external stimuli, "digital sacredness" a second-order internal psychological state encompassing transcendence, awe, serenity and …

A1) When The Oracle Is An Algorithm: The Future Of The Sacred Experience, Po Man Tse

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) into religious sites presents both profound opportunities and significant challenges (Arnold & Shultz, 2025). While AI shows considerable promise for enhancing visitor experiences (Khan, 2024), its deployment in sacred spaces where tradition and authenticity are paramount requires careful investigation. This study explores visitor perceptions of AI-mediated experiences at Hong Kong's Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, a major pilgrimage site uniquely housing Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions. Employing a qualitative approach, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The study utilized the vignette method (Finch, 1987) to anchor conversations in a tangible context, …

A2) Instagrammable Sacredness: The Commodification And Visual Consumption Of Mosque Tourism, Kristel Kessler

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Tourism experiences are increasingly shaped by digital technologies and social media, with destinations and attractions often selected, consumed, and remembered through their visual appeal. Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat have transformed the ways in which tourists select and engage with tourist sites and attractions, including sacred and religious sites. While mosque tourism emerged over a decade ago as a central feature of Islamic tourism, emphasizing the religious, cultural, and social significance of mosques for both Muslim and non-Muslim visitors, the rapid growth of social media has fundamentally altered how these spaces are experienced and represented. Today, mosques function …

B2) Ai Generated Narratives In Religious Tourism Marketing: Opportunities And Ethical Risks, Md Javed Kawsar, Rashed Gili Khan

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to redefine narrative construction in religious tourism marketing, creating new opportunities for digital engagement while also raising critical ethical concerns. As religious destinations increasingly adopt AI-enabled storytelling tools, ranging from conversational agents to multimodal generative systems, the nature of narrative authenticity, cultural sensitivity, and visitor perception is being significantly reshaped. Recent work on AI-driven religious tourism indicates that AI-enabled conversational agents influence tourists’ cognitive and affective evaluations, shaping memorable religious tourism experiences and future engagement intentions, highlighting the transformative potential of AI in sacred contexts. Likewise, studies examining AI-driven strategies …

Religious Tourism Promoting A Culture Of Peace, Interfaith Dialogue, And Human Fraternity, Nour Farra Haddad

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Since the 1980s, scholars and organizations including the World Tourism Organization—have discussed how tourism can contribute to international understanding and peacebuilding among the peoples of the world (Moufakkir & Kelly, 2010). Tourism is not only an economic and social activity; it also has the potential to build bridges between diverse cultures and break down barriers that separate societies. Tourism can therefore serve as an avenue for promoting human fraternity and encouraging positive interreligious dialogue. As Jafari (1989, p. 154) argues, tourism has the potential to build bridges and reduce the cultural distances separating people of different races, cultures, and religions. …

L2) The Bountiful: Mormon Tourism On Islamic Land? Examining Lds Church Members Intentions Toward Arabia, Kristel A. Kessler

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The Sultanate of Oman has gathered interest from scholars due to its potential connections to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (often referred to as the LDS Church or Mormon Church). Discussions have centred around the narrative of prophet Lehi, who constructed a ship to reach the promised land, as described in the Book of Mormon. This account details his journey to a land referred to as "Bountiful" during his exodus from Jerusalem. Recent explorations suggest that Khor Kharfot in the Dhofar region may be the most plausible location of Bountiful and could even contain …

L1) Modern Day Saints And The Production Of Contemporary Pilgrimage Sites: Analysis Of Padre Pio Of San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy And Sai Baba Of Shirdi, India, Kiran A. Shinde

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Places valorised by saints have attracted pilgrimage for a very long time as devotion to saints is a way to achieve both material wellbeing and spiritual growth. Yet, the cult following of modern-day saints in contemporary societies has become a topic for exploration only in recent years (Di Giovine, 2010; Srinivas, 2008). A few excellent hagiographies discuss the material and non-material world created around charismatic modern-day saints (Shepherd, 1986). Adding to this scholarship, this paper aims to explore the creation of contemporary pilgrimage landscape of modern-day saints using a cross-culture comparative analysis. The saints are Padre Pio of San Giovanni …

K2) A Pilgrimage Site As A Votive Offering: The Cases Of The Giant Statues Of Mar Charbel In Faraya And Hammana (Lebanon), Nour Farra Haddad

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Lebanon is located at the extreme east of the Mediterranean Sea and sandwiched between Syria and Israel/Palestine. What make this small country different from the others in the region are the close distances between the mountains, the sea and the green landscapes in the middle of deserted plains as well as its religious diversity with eighteen different communities.

The constant evolution of sacred geography in Lebanon testifies to the importance of Christian and Muslim religious markers in the landscape. The different communities have never stopped developing and building churches, monasteries, mosques, maqams and oratories. We have also seen that in …

K1) Understanding The Role Of Constraints In A Religious Destination - A Text-Mining Approach, Ariadna Gassiot Melian, Silvia Aulet Serrallonga

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Precedents of inclusive tourism research are linked to analyzing the lack of participation of individual in different activities. Consequently, the exclusion of individuals in different experiences because of different reasons was described and addressed. Thus, one of the most important elements in accessible tourism research is tourism constraints. These can be defined as inhibitors and determinants of travel behavior.

It is widely known that individuals with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by constraints (Smith, 1987). These constraints can affect their behavior in multiple ways, such as preventing them from engaging in certain activities (Crawford, Jackson, & Godbey, 1991), influencing their preferences …

K4) Family Pilgrimage To Rome For The Jubilee Year, Kevin A. Griffin, Patrick Donnelly

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This paper brings together two connected, yet seemingly unrelated strands of research. The first portion of the paper considers the Catholic Jubilee Year, 2025, its significance and related pilgrimage activities that are facilitated in Rome at this important time. The paper briefly outlines the theological and biblical significance of this special year of reconciliation and forgiveness which occurs every 25 years and draws millions of international pilgrims to Rome.

While seemingly entirely different, the second theme to be explored in the paper is the concept of Family Pilgrimage. According to Jenkins and Roszack (2023), the vast majority of pilgrim literature …

K3) Religious Tourism In A Key Textual Perspective: Spiritual Authenticity And Cultural Heritage, Ninfa Pagano, Walter Spezzano Aulet Serrallonga

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Over the last few decades religious tourism has emerged as a growing, relevant sector in international tourism industry. It is estimated that approximately 300 million visitors per year go on pilgrimages and the global number continually increases (Syngh & Bhuyan, 2024).

The purpose of the present study is twofold: first, as major pilgrimage destinations strategically employ tourism discourse (Dann, 1996; Maci, 2020), this paper critically examines English tourism discourse as used on the official website Jubilee 2025. Second, it investigates how religious tourism itineraries, promoted on the website, are discursively framed to engage international visitors (Wodak & Meyer, 2015). Indeed, …

L4) Sacred Or Sold? Balancing Spirituality And Commercialisation In Pilgrimage And Faith-Based Tourism, Tadeja A. Jere Jakulin, Dane Spezzano Munro

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This study adopts an interpretivist paradigm, framed by systems thinking and grounded in ethnographic methodology, to examine the role of Marian pilgrimage souvenirs in the intersection of faith, commerce, and material culture at the pilgrims’ sites of Malta, Lourdes (France) and Brezje (Slovenia). The choice of these approaches is dictated by the nature of the subject itself: sacred souvenirs are not merely objects but elements within a larger network of belief, ritual, economic structures, and pilgrimage dynamics. An interpretivist approach is necessary to account for the subjective and constructed meanings assigned to these souvenirs by pilgrims, shopkeepers, and religious institutions. …

L3) Do Religious Travels Transform Visitors And Affect Their Psychological Well-Being? A Study On Turkish Pilgrims Visiting Mecca, Nuray A. Turker, Sibel Spezzano Ayyildiz

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Transformational tourism is a concept that emphasizes the personal and spiritual growth that travelers can experience through their journeys, particularly in the context of religious or spiritual trips. Religious journeys can significantly influence travelers, affecting their perspectives, beliefs, and overall life trajectory. These experiences foster reflection, encourage deep immersion, and create a sense of connection to the divine, which can lead to meaningful lifestyle changes. The transformative potential of such trips highlights the importance of understanding tourism not just as leisure activity but as a path to personal and communal development. This research aims to explore the transformative impact of …

J4) Regenerating Responsible Tourism - Conceptual Framework In Context Of Religious And Spiritual Destinations, Tomasz Duda, Anna Gardzinska

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

In the times of global challenges related to excessive tourist activity, environmental degradation, and the commercialization of sites of particular cultural and religious significance, the need for a regenerative approach to tourism is still growing. Responsible tourism, based on the principles of sustainable development and respect for local values, is an important element of this transformation. The aim of this presentation is to develop a conceptual framework for regenerating responsible tourism in the context of religious and spiritual destinations.

The study includes a literature review on responsible tourism, sustainable development, and regenerative management strategies for sacred sites. Based on qualitative …

I1) Territorial Development And Religious Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis, Salvatore F. Iannolino

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The connection between religious tourism and territorial development is rooted in the enhancement of places of worship, spiritual itineraries, and local traditions, which serve as catalysts for the socioeconomic and cultural regeneration of regions (Cerutti & Piva, 2015; González-González & Fernández-Álvarez, 2022). This type of tourism is characterized by a strong sense of identity and the ability to activate often-overlooked endogenous resources such as abbeys, sanctuaries, hermitages, and devotional routes (Azevedo, 2021). Promoting this form of tourism within a territory stimulates the local economy through the development of a tailored hospitality system, craftsmanship that caters to the needs of pilgrims, …

I2) Managing And Promoting A Religious Route: A Pilot Project Experience In Sicily (Italy) - The Itinerarium Rosaliae, Susanna F. Gristina

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Religious tourism is a rapidly growing sector with significant economic and cultural impacts worldwide, with 330 million people undertaking religious journeys each year. In Europe, Italy leads in this field, with religious routes playing an essential and expanding role in boosting tourism and local economies, driven by increased interest in spiritual and cultural pathways. Recognising the important contribution of religious paths to economic growth in the areas - often rural - that they pass through, the Italian Ministry of Tourism has allocated funds and created a national catalogue of religious routes to support their maintenance, management, and promotion. This is …

J2) Impact Of Tourism On Corsican’S Religion, Pierre-François Marchiani

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

In the 60s Corsica underwent a transformation with the rise of tourism and a new influx of population. Since then, the importance of tourism on the island has only increased to reach in 2023, 3 millions visitors, for only 350.000 inhabitants, and 39% of the Corsica’s GDP . The sheer volume of visitors is having a real impact on the Corsican way of life, not only economically but also culturally and perhaps religiously. At least that’s what we’re going to question in this communication.

9 out of 10 Corsicans claiming to be Catholic, quite quickly the Church of Corsica took …

J1) Virtual Reality And Multifaith Pilgrimage: Assessing The Impact Of Vr Technology On Religious Tourism Across Different Traditions, Md. Javed Kawsar, Rashed Khan

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Religious tourism has traditionally been a deeply immersive, physical experience, drawing in millions of pilgrims to sacred sites across different faiths. However, with advancements in Virtual Reality (VR) technology, religious tourism is evolving to offer virtual experiences of these sacred spaces. VR's potential to make sacred journeys more accessible, especially for individuals facing physical, financial, or geopolitical barriers. While VR enhances interfaith understanding and can complement traditional pilgrimages through immersive and educational experiences, it raises critical questions about spiritual authenticity, theological legitimacy, and ethical use. However, VR is not a full replacement for physical pilgrimage due to its limitations in …

I3) Monastic Botanical Gardens: Medicinal Plants, Cultural Heritage, And Tourist Routes, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Polyxeni Moira

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

From the dawn of humanity, man have sought remedies for various illnesses and health issues in the natural environment. Herbal medicine has been at the forefront of humanity's therapeutic pursuits since the beginning of time. The natural environment, of which humans are a part, constitutes the first laboratory for the production of medicines. Medicinal botany can be traced back to ancient Greece, continues in ancient Rome, is closely linked to Islamic tradition, and persists through the rise of Christianity in monasteries, enduring to the present day.

Today, the use of herbs in monasteries remains alive and well preserved. Monastic botanical …

J3) The Use Of Ai-Based Eye Trackers In Catholic Sanctuaries: A Possible Contribution To The Study Of Pilgrimage Experiences, Marco Papasidero

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The advent of AI has opened new avenues of research, one of which is the recent study of human gaze in Catholic churches and shrines (Ruozzi, Papasidero 2024). As part of the activities carried out within the PNRR ITSERR project (www.itserr.it), this paper aims to present the results of research conducted thus far in four sanctuaries in northern Italy: the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bismantova in the Diocese of Reggio Emilia; the Sanctuary of Sts Pellegrino e Bianco in Alpe in the Diocese of Lucca; the Sanctuary of St Maria della Vita; and the Church of Sts Vitale and …

I4) A New Era Of Empowerment: Muslim Women’S Solo Religious Travel To Saudi Arabia After Vision 2030’S Groundbreaking Reforms, Ola Naim Omar Ismail Hajjaj

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Since the declaration of Saudi Vision 2030 in 2016, the country has undergone significant and transformative changes, including reforms aimed at promoting gender equality and empowering women across various sectors including religious tourism, represented by Hajj (pilgrimage) and Umrah. One of the most historical and impactful changes is the elimination of the requirement for women to have a male guardian/companion (mahram) when visiting Saudi Arabia (SA) to perform religious tourism, enabling them to travel independently. This policy shift, implemented gradually between 2019 and 2022, not only empowers women but also supports Saudi Arabia’s broader goals of increasing tourism, modernizing its …

Keynote 3: The Future Of Religious Tourism And Pilgrimage: At The Intersection Of Sustainability, Silva Goretti

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Religious tourism, encompassing pilgrimages and spiritual journeys across diverse faith traditions, has emerged as a significant contributor to global tourism. Although exact numbers may vary according to different sources, recognition of its contribution to local development is widely acknowledged, as well as its resilience, even during economic downturns. The Bethlehem Declaration (2015) acknowledges these potentials, encouraging policies that develop religious tourism in ways that ensure community participation, socioeconomic benefits, and balanced visitor experiences. However, while presenting unique opportunities, religious tourism also poses significant challenges to sustainability due to the ecological footprint of mass gatherings, physical degradation of sacred sites, waste …