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Religious Tourism, Pilgrimage, and Cultural Tourism
SOMNUCK JONGMEEWASIN
Ph.D. (Architectural Heritage Management and Tourism)
Abstract
The aim of this study is to provide a critical review of the literature in the following areas: concepts related to the intersection of tourism and religion, religion and spirituality are still among the most common motivations for travel, religious tourism and pilgrimage, sacred motivations for pilgrimage, development of tourism destination for pilgrimage route, and challenges for pilgrimage route in cultural tourism. Religious Tourism, so-
called “Faith Tourism”, is a
form of tourism, whereby people of faith travel individually or in groups for reasons related to religion or spirituality in their quest for meaning. It could be under pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure purposes. Many of today's most popular tourist destinations are related to ancient places of worship or to the site of apparent miracles. In addition, Pilgrimage, as a part of religious tourism, is the act of moving from one place to another, often traveling through foreign lands; an ordered march of a group of people, usually with religious connotation. It is a ritual journey with a hallowed purpose; every step along the way has meaning; the pilgrim knows that the journey will be difficult and that life-giving challenges will emerge. Basically, sacred destinations and places of pilgrimage associate with the mainstream faiths: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Sikhism. Nowadays, at least three hundred million pilgrims visit the world's key religious sites every year. The study also presents an implication to distinct pilgrimage from religious tourism. In term of pilgrimage, its incorporation conveys religious involvement into the journey. Motivations for pilgrimage will differ from those of religious tourism. The pilgrimage has a mediation function between the natural and the cultural world & between the natural and the supernatural world. It is not a vacation, but a transformational journey during which significant change takes place; new insights are given, deeper understanding is attained, new and old places in the heart are visited, blessings are received, healing takes place, and on return from the pilgrimage, life is seen with different eyes and nothing will ever be quite the same again. While pilgrimage has ultimate spiritual goal, the search for eternal truth and becoming one with God, it is a journey resulting from religious causes, externally to a holy site, and internationally for spiritual purposes and internal understanding. Sacred site that houses holy artifacts promotes ritual practice and attracts religious travelers or pilgrims, who often mark the time and extend the space of the journey by returning home with mementos. The review includes the development of tourism destination for pilgrimage route. Pilgrimage is as the ancient forerunner and analogue of modern tourism. At the same time, tourism is as a kind of pilgrimage of modern civilization. Tourist is half a pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist. Indeed, tourism and pilgrimage can be identified as opposite end points on a continuum of travel. While changing motivations of the traveler, whose interests and activities may switch from tourism to pilgrimage and vice versa, even without the individual being aware of the change. The study also found valid connections between sacred people, places, and events. Challenge for pilgrimage route in cultural tourism has been finally discussed. Tourist attractions are symbols of modern consciousness, the modern cathedrals of consumption, and venerated through sight sacralization. Sightseeing becomes a modern ritual. New means of consumption can be seen as cathedrals of consumption. Must-see attractions replace the must-see religious sites. There is an emergence of experience industry from the pilgrimage route, as cultural heritage attraction, in view of cultural tourism, aimed at consuming experiences and engaging in enchantment. The study found that religious-based experiences could provide experienced-based economies. Religion, as a tourist experience, becomes part of the symbolic economy. In conclusion, the experience industry with tourist attractions derived from the pilgrimage routes has been broadly developed in form of cultural tourism in our time. These tourist attractions are also known as cultural heritage attractions, functioning as the travel motivations of tourist.