Evolution of Religious Tourism: Concept, Segmentation and Development of New Identities
Evolution of Religious Tourism: Concept, Segmentation and Development of New Identities

Author(s): Mariana Balan
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Economy, Theology and Religion, Methodology and research technology, Tourism
Published by: Academia Română, Filiala Iași Institutul de Cercetări Economice și Sociale „Gheorghe Zane”
Keywords: Religious tourism; Tourist motivation; Pilgrimage Tourist behavior
Summary/Abstract: During the last decades of the 21st century, world tourism has diversified its forms of manifestation internationally, trying to capitalize on the most valuable cultural and religious objectives in the religious cultural heritage of a country. Between tourism and culture, respectively between tourism and religion there are countless interactions and combinations based on the relationship between the cultural objective / sacred place and the motivation of the tourist according to which several aspects can be analyzed. Tourism, in general, be it religious or cultural, is the way in which a country becomes known to the world, and through which other people can see the natural resources, the tourist potential and the riches of that country. Romania has a cultural-historical and ethnofolkloric heritage of great value as well as tourist attractiveness and it is blessed with thousands of holy places and religious monuments, some dating back to the early Christian centuries. This paper presents a brief analysis of the evolution of religious tourism and the way existing concepts, paradigms and practices related to this type of tourism have evolved and changed over time. The performed analyzes show that the concept of religious tourism is gradually transformed and modernized over the years, going through phases of segmentation, creation of new market niches and development of new identities. The regions with cultural-religious tourist potential in Romania are also presented, as well as the activities that can grow and help the development of this type of tourism in our country.

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