Religious tourism and pilgrimages: Voices from South Asia

In this seminar Dr Shinde offers insights on the contemporary phenomena of religious tourism in the developing world. Based on studies of several pilgrim-towns and pilgrimage landscapes related to Hinduism in India, he demonstrates that different aspects of “religion” and active religious practice around divinity and deities, belief in sacred geography, faith-based rituals, devotion, rites of passage, as mediated by different kinds of religious functionaries continue to dominate present mobilities in religious tourism.

He argues that “place-based religious practices” (or spatial practices) are a key distinguishing factor in religious tourism that not only anchor unique social interactions between hosts and guests but also generates a unique form of patronage and pilgrimage economy.

The simultaneous interaction of religious and non-religious actors is necessary to reproduce the sanctity of the place (or the spirit of the place). However, the balancing of such engagement is necessary to maintain the religious aspect of religious tourism.

Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management at Leeds Beckett University host an ‘open’ research seminar series each year covering recent advances within the field. We have attracted speakers from universities across the globe to debate issues which affect the events, tourism and hospitality sector.