The complexities of religious tourism motivations: sacred places, vows and visions

Article


Terzidou, M., Scarles, C. and Saunders, M. 2018. The complexities of religious tourism motivations: sacred places, vows and visions. Annals of Tourism Research. 70, pp. 54-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.02.011
TypeArticle
TitleThe complexities of religious tourism motivations: sacred places, vows and visions
AuthorsTerzidou, M., Scarles, C. and Saunders, M.
Abstract

The aim of this paper is to understand the complexity of travel motivations to sacred places. Using ethnographic techniques within the Greek Orthodox context, we argue that while motivations are institutionally constructed, they are fragile, dynamic and progressive; being embedded within everyday performances of religion. This calls into question the fixed centeredness and predetermined sacredness of religious sites. Travel motivations become directly influenced by believers’ intimate and emergent performances not only of places but also of religion itself; the meaning of places being based on lived experiences of doing religion and interacting with the sacred, as exemplified in vows and visions. Such understandings are crucial in predicting the effects of failing pilgrimages and the processes of authentication of places, which can help explain visitation patterns.

KeywordsReligious tourism; Motivation; Performance; Vows
PublisherElsevier
JournalAnnals of Tourism Research
ISSN0160-7383
Electronic1873-7722
Publication dates
Online14 Mar 2018
Print01 May 2018
Publication process dates
Deposited20 Mar 2018
Accepted28 Feb 2018
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

© 2018. This author's accepted manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.02.011
Web of Science identifierWOS:000435747100005
LanguageEnglish
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