Travel motivations of pilgrims, religious tourists, and spirituality seekers

Abstract

Pilgrims’ motivations have long been of interest to scholars of religious tourism and pilgrimage. Many cultural influences cause people to undertake pilgrimages, and there are as many motives for pilgrimage as there are spiritual or religious needs. The term ‘motivation’ refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behavior. Cultural and social factors include pilgrims’ cultural traditions, social classes, societal role and status, familial influence, and that of other reference groups. A destination’s image and enticement develop through many means, including media, social media, stories, and cultural traditions. Pilgrimage motives are sometimes part of a social action or collective behavior. Demographic variations can also influence people’s motivations. Gender, age, education, social class, and denominational adherence create common variations in motivation. Dark tourism is associated with sites of death, disaster, and depravity. Pilgrimages to cemeteries, tombs of saints, or other places associated with death have existed since people began to travel.

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