RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY: NAVIGATING TRANSFORMATION, AUTHENTICITY, AND CULTURAL RESILIENCE (2001-2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/tacr.2025.5Keywords:
Religious Tourism, Pilgrimage, COVID-19 Impact, Cultural Heritage, Sustainable TourismAbstract
This comprehensive review examines the dynamic evolution of religious tourism during the first quarter of the 21st century (2001-2025), a period marked by significant growth, unprecedented challenges, and transformative adaptations. Employing a multidisciplinary approach and robust secondary literature review, the study analyzes religious travel through economic, marketing, socio-cultural, governance, and sustainability lenses. The pre-COVID-19 era saw substantial expansion, while the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022) served as a critical turning point, profoundly disrupting traditional practices and catalyzing innovations such as virtual pilgrimages. The post-pandemic landscape (2023-2025) reveals a heightened demand for authentic, meaningful, and spiritual journeys, coupled with an intensified focus on sustainable and responsible management. Key findings highlight the inherent tension between the sacred and the commercial, and the imperative to balance economic development with cultural heritage preservation and environmental stewardship. The article underscores religious tourism's resilience, its capacity for technological integration, and the complex interplay among diverse stakeholder interests. Offering critical insights for academics and practitioners, this review emphasizes balanced strategies that uphold authenticity, promote sustainability, and adapt to changing global dynamics, particularly within the context of arts and cultural heritage.
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