Search Results (64)

The study examined the relations and Granger causality among environmental pollution, air quality, life expectancy, religious tourism, petroleum consumption and economic growth in three countries, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, three countries with a prominent role of religious tourism, given the high shares of religious tourism revenues in their economies and due to pilgrimage-type religious tourism activities in total tourism activities. The study employed a yearly sample of 1975–2019 and novel Fourier-augmented vector autoregressive and Fourier Granger causality tests, under the structural breaks in the data. The findings indicate negative effects on environmental pollution and air quality from tourism in addition to such effects on life expectancy in all countries analyzed, and in this relation, fossil fuel consumption in these nations and its acceleration with tourism play crucial roles. These effects are amplified by economic growth coupled with tourism revenues that go in hand with high fossil fuel consumption, which further worsen the impacts on the environment. In the causality testing stage, the results determined unidirectional causality from tourism, fossil fuel energy consumption, and economic growth to both carbon dioxide emissions and to particulate matter 2.5. These effects are also reinforced by feedback effects between air pollution and life expectancy, which enhance the effects on both environment and air quality. These findings are used to suggest important policy recommendations, among which, the reduction in high dependency on fossil fuel in the energy mix is most central. Equally, policies are suggested to encourage sustainable tourism to reverse the adverse effects on health, environmental degradation and worsened air quality in these nations. Full article

For Muslims, the Ka‘ba holds immense significance as the destination of pilgrimage—an obligatory act of worship—and as the direction toward which prayers are performed. The kiswa is a cover that has been placed on the Ka‘ba, the holiest place in Islam, since the Jāhiliyya period as an expression of respect for it. Although there are some exceptions in Islamic history, it is usually changed once a year and it was woven in different colours according to the period, and finally it became a tradition to be black. The kiswa of the Ka‘ba is one of the most important religious and political symbols of Islamic history. This article analyses the role of the kiswa of the Ka‘ba in the relations between Muslim rulers in the Islamic world throughout history. From the earliest periods of Islam, the kiswa has been recognized as a symbol of legitimacy and a means of asserting control over the administration of pilgrimage. Many states, such as the Abbāsids, Mamlūks, and Ottomans, expressed or reinforced their political legitimacy among Muslims by showing their influence over the Ka‘ba through the tradition of the kiswa. In the medieval Islamic world, Muslim states or local administrators of these states especially used the kiswa as a symbol of sovereignty, thus increasing their influence in the regions they governed. Some Muslim administrators who wanted to send the kiswa to the Ka‘ba competed with each other or prevented the other from sending the kiswa to the Ka‘ba because each year only one kiswa was sent to Mecca. In this study, the position of the kiswa as a political symbol in the quest for the legitimacy of Muslim rulers in Islamic history and the historical development of this issue are discussed and analysed with examples. Full article

Historic urban cities face increasing pressure from tourism, necessitating sophisticated approaches to visitor management that protect both heritage values and local communities. The current study develops new sustainable metrics—sustainable visitor capacity (SVC) and Sustainable Visitation Index (SVI)—to provide a multifaceted assessment of heritage destination management beyond simple visitor volume calculations. The SVC considers operating hours, site capacity, and walking time, while the SVI holistically evaluates time efficiency, spatial distribution, and physical comfort. Applying these metrics to seven routes through the historic Mamluk monuments revealed significant variations in sustainability performance, with SVI scores ranging from 48.9 at Al-Ṣalῑba/Al-Sayyida Zaynab Streets to 92.8 at Northern Al-Mu’izz Street. The findings demonstrate that while the recommended daily visitor capacity ranges from 1286 to 2182 visitors across different routes, actual visitation frequently exceeds these thresholds, particularly in commercial zones. Geographic analyses and on-site studies identified the integration of tourist activities with commercial, residential, and religious uses as a critical factor contributing to overcrowding, especially evident in areas like Al-Ṣalῑba Street, where low SVI scores reflect challenges with unorganized markets and local congestion. The study offers site-specific recommendations for heritage managers, focusing on dynamic visitor management systems and zoning strategies that consider the dual function of these historic corridors as both tourist attractions and vital local thoroughfares. This research provides heritage managers with practical tools to quantify and enhance the sustainability of visitor experiences while preserving site integrity within complex urban heritage contexts. Full article

The aim of this study was to analyse the motivations of the participants of the festivity in honour of Our Lady of Antime in Fafe (located in the north of Portugal) and provide an overview of the tourism opportunities and impacts associated with the event. To this end, the study analysed the main events on the programme for the 2024 edition of this religious festivity. According to the interviews and participant observations, the impact of the religious festivity in honour of Our Lady of Antime on the faithful who participated was evident. For this study, semi-structured face-to-face interviews and participant observations were conducted, and the former were recorded for subsequent content analysis and categorisation. Participant observation was conducted, focusing on the events that occurred during the religious festivity in honour of the Lady of Antime. The limitations of this study relate to the fact that this is a resource that has not yet been explored as a lever for religious tourism in the municipality, although it has received more media attention in recent years. After carrying out this study, it was possible to conclude that the religious festivity in honour of Our Lady of Antime is attracting more and more believers, and that this event has become a resource that is complementary to the basic tourist resources of the destination of Fafe. Full article

For a long time, tourism in Saudi Arabia has been predominantly religious and business-related. In 2019, the kingdom opened its door to tourism for the first time. It produced a significant change in the tourism industry. This research explores the balance between heritage conservation and tourism development, focusing on social, environmental, and economic aspects. The methodology is based on qualitative analysis through 15 in-depth interviews and on-field observations, with Historic Jeddah as a case study. The results confirm that tourism has profoundly changed the city of Jeddah, facilitating new opportunities and presenting new challenges. So, the new aspects that emerge, such as heritage value, economic growth, overtourism, and the travel experience, impose a new management strategy for upcoming opportunities and also challenges. These aspects highlight the management and the authenticity of the place but also provide evidence of the high costs and scarcity of services. Sustainability seems to be the framework that can guarantee an equilibrium in the development process, reducing the impact on the cultural heritage. The originality of this research is to provide a view on this tension between heritage conservation and tourism development from the perspective of an emerging travel destination. Full article

This article provides a way to think through the division between religious and secular approaches to contemporary society through the use of rival myths. Myths are narrative structures that invite the interplay of language and the imagination, resulting in the creation of virtual realities and social imaginaries. Strong virtual realities were once premised on myths that guided the imagination to embrace an openness to mystery and the unknowable; however, current technological culture is predicated on a closed imagination that has led to worldwide despair. Religion was originally grounded in the virtual reality inspired by language and the capacity of language to distill and extract the “virtual” from the real. The ability of language to create a virtual reality created the capacity to think of a soul, as well as destinations for the soul. In the twentieth century, Freud found that the notion of “God” that was created had become problematic for humans and so created a modern myth that would provide a secular substitute. After providing a close reading of Freud’s governing myth for modern culture, showing how it inspires the imagination and the ways in which it falls short, this article concludes with an alternative myth—that of the Invisible City—proposed to inspire faith, hope, and love in our modern world. My approach relies on a depth psychological framework, which was formed to interrogate the nature of reality (relative to individuals and culture) at the intersection of myth, religion, language, and imagination. Throughout, I use a hermeneutic methodology, which is consistent with the initial mode of depth psychological exploration as well as the central role language plays in revealing the truth of a reality. This orientation enables an exploration of a deeper sense of virtual realities than what is deployed through current technology. Full article

Religious tourism is one of the oldest forms of mobility for travel. This study aims at validating the motivational dimensions of demand in religious tourism. The present research was carried out with tourists who had attended the pilgrimage of the Virgin of Montserrat in the city of Montecristi (Ecuador), an important tourist destination that stands out for its culture and intangible heritage. This quantitative study had a sample of 298 valid questionnaires that were analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results identified five motivational dimensions: experience belief, experience religion, social exploration, escape, and shopping. The results will serve as a guide for private companies to develop products from religious tourism. Likewise, the research contributes significantly to the academic literature on religious tourism in emerging destinations. Full article

Religious tourism holds a significant place in travel experiences, particularly at monasteries, where visitors often encounter profound emotional experiences. This study aims to investigate the emotional experiences and place attachment of religious tourism at monasteries in Serbia, utilizing quantitative methods and an online survey approach. Through an online survey administered to visitors of Serbian monasteries, this study seeks to quantify and analyze the emotional experiences and two-dimensional place attachments reported by participants during their sacred journeys. The survey instrument includes measures to understand place attachment through place dependence and place identity, satisfaction, emotional experience, and destination loyalty under one framework. Additionally, demographic variables will be examined to identify potential differences in emotional experiences and place attachment among different visitor groups. The results indicate that place attachment is influenced by emotional experience and satisfaction, which further influences destination loyalty. The findings of this study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the destination loyalty and place attachment aspects of religious tourism at Serbian monasteries, providing valuable insights for tourism management and destination marketing efforts. Full article

Vâlcea County in the South-West Oltenia Region, Romania, has a great diversity of tourist destinations and boasts an impressive number of monasteries, churches and places of worship. This research aims to comprehensively investigate how tourists perceive the main reasons for visiting religious settlements and the frequency in Vâlcea County, situated in the South-West Oltenia Region, by employing a two-stage methodology to understand the interplay of demographic variables, travel behaviors and individual motivations, while utilizing GIS and SPSS for spatial and quantitative analysis. The two stages are: (1) the analysis of the specialized literature to identify the motivations, beliefs and tourists’ perceptions regarding religious tourism and pilgrimage and (2) statistical analyses and interviews with internal stakeholders (residents), which present their tourist and religious perspective on Vâlcea County. The research questions aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between demographic variables, travel behaviors and individual motivations within this distinctive context. The research significantly contributes to furthering our understanding of the behavior of participants in religious tourism and pilgrimage in Vâlcea County, highlighting that certain variables, such as gender, education level and occupation, may or may not significantly impact their preferences and choices. Geographical Information System (GIS) software was used to map the study area and, at the same time, the main places of worship that were visited by tourists. The SPSS (version 15.0) program was used to investigate and analyze the quantitative research data. The results reveal that, in Vâlcea County’s religious tourism and pilgrimage, gender, age and education level do not significantly impact travel choices or visit durations. However, occupation emerges as a crucial factor influencing transportation preferences, while respondents’ place of origin shows no significant association with the presence of accompanying individuals during religious visits. The current research was limited by its focus on a single case study of Vâlcea County in the South-West Oltenia Region and the scarcity of previous studies on religious tourism and pilgrimage in Vâlcea County. Full article

Urban settlements often deal with the massive transportation problems caused by mixed land-use development and improper travel services. This situation propels travel accessibility issues within urban centers. This research is intended to focus on the 3rd largest city of Pakistan’s Sindh province, i.e., Sukkur, where residents were found struggling to reach their desired destinations. The study area has naturally grown without planning guidelines, generating traffic congestion and haphazard land-use patterns. This research aims to measure accessibility within the city center using trip rate analysis and a GIS-based isochrone model (1-km radius). In total, 234 household trips were randomly considered according to Morgan’s sampling standards. The results revealed that scattered locations caused heavy traffic volumes without public transport facilities. The ratio of traveling by bike for shopping was recorded at 17.24%. Commuting by car; home-based, health, and shopping trips were ranked 1st (5.52%), 2nd (2.76%), and 3rd (1.38%), respectively. The isochrone-based maps were delineated to clarify the temporal accessibility features. Only three shopping activities were found to be accessible within 6 min. Most of the banks were found to be highly accessible. None of the health facilities were located within a 0–6 minute isochronal boundary. Two entertainment sites were accessible within 0–6 min. The residential neighborhoods were not close to the city center. Only three parks and six religious facilities were accessible within 6–12 min. The study findings clarified mixed land use activities accessed through multiple travel modes in the city center. Executing traffic management implications is a need of the time to induce sustainable transportation guidelines. Besides, the results may contribute to SDG 11.2, i.e., “affordable and sustainable transport systems” available for local commuters. The findings of this study are also relevant to evaluating the progress of some cities on SDG 11.2 regarding accessing feasible transportation services. Full article

In this study, the impact of the reasons for leaving their country (such as social, economic, and political) of Afghan asylum seekers who illegally entered Turkey from the eastern border on their life satisfaction in the country of destination was analyzed. The sample comprised 500 individuals (54.8% women; 42.4% < 30 age) who came as refugees from Turkey’s eastern border. Three-stages of analysis were carried out in the study: the Mantel–Haenszel test, ordered logit, and CART (Classification and Regression Trees) decision tree. The main findings obtained from these analyses show that individuals leaving their country for economic reasons and because of war/terrorism are happier, while those leaving their country because of religious and cultural pressures are unhappier. According to the results of the CART analysis, the most frequently repeated variables are economic and life satisfaction of individuals who are satisfied with their household income and save money is at its highest level. In the analysis it is also seen that the life satisfaction level of individuals who are not satisfied with their household income, leave their country for reasons other than economic reasons, and make a living on debt is very low. This study also focuses on the relationship between happiness and sustainable development (SD). It has associated the reasons for migrants leaving their countries with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the significance of happiness studies in achieving the SDGs. Full article

Pilgrimage is undergoing a revival in western Europe, mainly as newly established or revitalised pilgrim routes, such as the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. These trails have helped to foster the widespread idea that pilgrimage is essentially a journey: a spiritual or “meaningful” journey undertaken slowly, and preferably on foot, in the medieval tradition. The purpose of this article is to problematise this journey-oriented understanding of pilgrimage in Christian and post-Christian societies and to suggest that the importance given to the pilgrimage journey by many scholars, and by wider society, is more a product of modern Western values and post-Reformation culture than a reflection of historical and current-day religious practices. Drawing on evidence from a range of contemporary sources, it shows that many medieval pilgrims understood pilgrimage as a destination-based activity as is still the case at numerous Roman Catholic shrines today. Full article

Responsible tourism practices promote the idea that responsibility refers to both visitors and local communities, ensuring the protection and conservation of the natural environment and cultural heritage and contributing to a better quality of life. The role of “sustainability” in a tourist development strategy is to protect and reveal what already exists (“reuse, recycle, renovate”) rather than consume. In these terms, cultural routes can serve as valuable tourism assets that can attract visitors and generate economic activity, while protecting the environmental and cultural heritage. This study is focused on Symi, a small and remote Greek island better known as a religious tourism destination, examining how cultural routes could be at the core of an economic development and social cohesion strategic plan. Symi served as a case study due to the island’s rich cultural and natural heritage, including historic buildings, natural attractions, monuments, and archaeological sites. The revealing of those assets is crucial for the advancement of an integrated local strategy for cultural tourism in terms of responsible tourism. The primary objective of this study is to analyze how the development of a cultural routes network, integrating monuments from diverse historical periods, significant religious sites, and areas of significant architectural and environmental value, can contribute to a responsible tourism approach and further a sustainable development that generates multiple benefits for the local community in an insular region. Full article

The present study aims to demonstrate the significance of religious tourism and its impact on both the economy and socio-culture. Religious tourism provides a sacred and spiritual environment that has the potential to shape the motivational state of individuals searching for cultural and religious landmarks and destinations to support their spiritual well-being. Hence, it is imperative to maintain close relationships between religion, culture, and tourism as they play a crucial role in promoting spirituality and human development, particularly in the context of globalization and sustainable economic development. In the latter part of the paper, research was conducted to formulate strategies aimed at the development of religious tourism in the northeast region of Romania, which is an economically underprivileged area with significant untapped tourist potential. The findings suggest that via improvements in infrastructure, the creation of a favorable business environment, enhanced promotion, development of accommodation facilities, and improvement in services, the area can achieve a higher quality of life and sustainable development. Full article

User-generated online ratings have become a prominent tool for hotels to enhance overall customer satisfaction. Prior research on online ratings has mainly considered commercial destinations, whereas research on religious destinations is limited. This study uses the IPA technique and beta regression analysis to investigate the destination’s (commercial and religious) varying effects on the relationship between hotel service quality attributes and customer satisfaction. In total, data from 338 hotels representing 82,704 customer reviews in two Saudi Arabian cities (Alkhobar and Makkah) were collected from Booking.com and analyzed. Makkah was selected as a key religious heritage destination, whereas Alkhobar was chosen as a commercial destination as it hosts major sea resorts, recreational parks, and shopping destinations. The results indicate that commercial and religious destination tourists do not have similar perceptions of the selected eight hotel service quality attributes. While comfort, facilities, and value-for-money service quality attributes were considered important for commercial destination tourists, religious destination tourists viewed location, cleanliness, and breakfast as important. Since effective management of customer satisfaction is essential for hotels’ profitability and sustainability, therefore it is imperative to identify and prioritize service quality attributes related to each group of customers. This will enable the efficient application of limited resources. Full article