1st Edition

Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys

Edited By Dallen Timothy, Daniel Olsen Copyright 2006
    304 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    302 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Religion and spirituality are still among the most common motivations for travel - many major tourism destinations have developed largely as a result of their connections to sacred people, places and events. Providing a comprehensive assessment of the primary issues and concepts related to this intersection of tourism and religion, this revealing book gives a balanced discussion of both the theoretical and applied subjects that destination planners, religious organizations, scholars, and tourism service providers must deal with on a daily basis.

    Bringing together a distinguished list of contributors, this volume takes a global approach and incorporates substantial empirical cases from Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, New Ageism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and the spiritual philosophies of East Asia. On a conceptual level, it considers, amongst other topics:

    • contested heritage
    • the pilgrim-tourist dichotomy
    • secularization of pilgrimage experiences
    • religious humanism
    • educational aspects of religious tourism
    • commodification of religious icons and services.

    A vibrant collection of essays, this outstanding book discusses many important practices, paradigms, and problems that are currently being examined and debated. It raises an array of significant and interesting questions and as such is a valuable resource for students, scholars and researchers of tourism, religion and cultural studies.

    1. Tourism and Religious Journeys  2. Sacred Spaces and Tourist Places  3. Religious and Secular Pilgrimage  4. Paradigms of Travel  5. Travel and Journeying on the Sea of Faith  6. Religious Tourism as an Educational Experience  7. Empty Bottles at Sacred Sites  8. Management Issues for Religious Heritage Attractions  9. Tourism and the Spiritual Philosophies of the 'Orient'  10. Nature Religion, Self Spirituality and New Age Tourism  11. Global Jewish Tourism  12. Buddhism, Tourism and the Middle Way  13. Tourism and Islam  14. Pilgrimage in Sikh Tradition  15. Pilgrimage in Hinduism  16. Sacred Places and Tourism in the Roman Catholic Tradition  17. Tourism and Informal Pilgrimage among the Latter-Day Saints  18. Conclusion

    Biography

    Dallen J. Timothy is Associate Professor of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University and Visiting Professor of Heritage Tourism at the University of Sunderland. Dr Timothy is editor of the Journal of Heritage Tourism and has published numerous books and articles on heritage, planning, borders, and religious tourism.

    Daniel H. Olsen is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography at the University of Waterloo. His research interests include religious heritage tourism, cultural geography, and the geography of religion. He has published several articles and book chapters on various aspects of heritage tourism, religious tourism, and cultural geography.

    The book is well written and well presented, potential readers include anyone interested in the field of religion and spirituality. Amos Ron, Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee, Israel.

    'The editing has taken a series of global phenomena and sought to explain to the diverse audiences some key messages as, what might be described in the post-Fordist post-modern agenda, best practice benchmarks for both sacred and secular audiences. In this fashion, the book illuminates the concerns of the sacred with the secular purpose of tourism from both the suppl and demand perspectives' - Peter Wiltshier, University of Derby Buxton

     

    "Professionals in the travel industry know this secret well: amongst the most common reasons for travel and religion and spirituality. In this collection of 18 articles from academic and industry experts, readers find some rather startling data and insights about why people undertake pilgrimages and spiritual journeys, what they do while they are on them, and how they perceive the experience and schedule their next opportunity. They cover some of the concepts, concerns, and management issues such as balancing sacred spaces and tourism, keeping the meaning, similarities between medieval pilgrimage and the virtual tour, perspectives from religious humanism, the role of education, religious retailing, and management of religious heritage attractions." -- Book News Inc, January 2007