12/02/12, 11:50:54 EST

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Religious Tourism: A New Era, a Dynamic Industry

grouptravelblog.com

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “religious travel?” If you’re like most of us, four thoughts probably come to the forefront: niche market, budget travel, pilgrimages, and seniors.

If you hold the above four perceptions of religious tourism, you would be considered “cutting edge” of this industry… in 1975. Yes – that’s right. If you think of religious travel as a niche market of budget pilgrimages for seniors, you are thirty years behind the curve.

Now, let me bring you up to date. Today religious travel, tourism, and hospitality is a dynamic $18-billion global industry with 300 million travelers. In North America alone, it is estimated at $10 billion. The Travel Industry Association of America reported last November that one in four travelers are currently interested in “spiritual vacations.” The appeal spans the ages with approximately one-third of each age group (18-34, 35-54, and 55+) expressing interest in taking such a vacation. And according to some reports, more than 50,000 churches and religious organizations host travel programs. Few other travel industry segments can boast such impressive numbers.

But that’s not all. In the past three decades, people of faith have changed their spending habits and today purchase first-class products and services. Just think of it as this: first-class travel is in, budget travel is out.

And now, possibly the biggest story of all. Religious tourism in the 21st century no longer constitutes only pilgrimage and missionary travel; rather, in the modern-world it embraces the following twelve vacation segments:

* Pilgrimages
* Missionary
* Cruises
* Leisure/getaways
* Conferences/conventions
* Destinations/attractions
* Retreats/guesthouses
* Christian camps
* Adventure/active
* Volunteer vacations
* Student/youth
* Family/intergenerational

When did all this Sudden Growth Begin?

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Religious tourism has experienced unprecedented growth in the past thirty years. However, the sharpest and greatest increase has taken place during the 1990s and especially since the turn of the century.

Take the religious conventions and meetings business. According to the Religious Conference Management Association, this segment of the faith tourism industry experienced an increase from 4.4 million attendees to 14.7 million attendees at religious meetings between 1994 and 2006.

Pilgrimages also witnessed a dramatic increase around with the world with, for example, the Vatican nearly doubling its visitors in the past 10 years to an all-time high in 2006 of 4.2 million visitors. The vast majority of other famous shrines and sites have also experienced similar substantial growth including Lourdes, Fatima, San Giovanni Rotondo, Assisi, Canterbury Cathedral, Geneva, Germany Reformation sites, and biblical sites along the route of Apostle Paul in Greece and Turkey. Holy Land destinations such as Jordan and Israel have also enjoyed record numbers in the new millennium.

The world of faith-based cruising has evolved from a relatively unknown segment into a mainstream choice for the religious traveler. Twenty years ago, virtually no faithbased cruise charter took place; today more than a dozen operate carrying about 2,000 to 3,000 people each. In addition, hundreds of faith-based groups now take to the seas each year on Christian music cruises and the like.

Short-term missionary travel itself has grown from about 25,000 participants in 1979 to today’s staggering 1.6 million participants. And 55 million Americans have embarked on volunteer vacations with many churches, religious groups, and people of faith leading the charge.

Lastly, Christian attractions are in the midst of a growth and visitor boom as well. In the past seven years, North America has witnessed the birth of numerous top quality faith-based attractions beginning with the debut of the biblical park Holy Land Experience in 2001 to this past June’s launch of the Billy Graham Library and Creation Museum. Each of these attractions currently welcome or are projected to welcome approximately 250,000 visitors annually.

Why all the Growth?
There are three primary reasons behind the explosive growth in religious tourism. For one, there is an increase in the overall number of Americans traveling and vacationing. To be exact, in the past ten years alone Americans traveling overseas has grown by almost 50%.

Secondly, there are more people of faith. Although the percentage of North Americans claiming or belonging to a faith hasn’t necessarily increased in the past ten years, the overall “faith population” has expanded. For example, the Christian population size has increased by about ten million during the past decade.

Third, people of faith are now finding ways to integrate their beliefs into their everyday lives. We’ve seen this in the past five years with the astounding success of faith-based movies, books, and music. Do titles like The Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Purpose-Driven Life ring a bell? These faith-based tales have become top national sellers and even household names. And not to be forgotten,
Christian music itself has climbed to the top of the charts and today outsells even Classical and Jazz combined.

What does this all mean? With the combination of more Americans traveling, larger faith-based populations, and a definitive trend towards people purchasing products and services related to their beliefs, we see the reason why religious tourism has experienced such a spectacular increase in recent years – and especially in the past decade.

A Passing Fad?
Now with all this recent and vast growth, I think it’s fair to ask if religious tourism is just a passing fad. If you call three thousand years of history a fad, then I guess “yes” – religious tourism is just that. Actually, religious travel is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, forms of tourism. Mass tourism as we know it today arguably dates to the Egyptian Empire when out-of-towners streamed into the city to attend religious festivals. Businesses sprang up to accommodate the Egyptian spiritual visitors’ needs including food, transportation, and lodging.

A millennium or two later, things were no different. The Middle Ages are virtually synonymous with pilgrimage. Rome, Santiago de Compostela, Canterbury (Cathedral), and Jerusalem all became top travel destinations of this era for their religious connections.

Now fast-forward to the 19th century when the famed Thomas Cooke literally invented escorted group travel. How and why did he launch this trend? Although few realize this, Thomas Cooke was a Methodist minister and like any good “man of the cloth,” he sought to increase the number of people who would listen to him by organizing group trips to his revival meetings – thus, the birth of modern-day escorted travel. So what’s the main point? Religious travel lies at the root of mass tourism. It is not a “flash in the pan” market and you can rest assured that it will always remain a key segment and choice of travel.

Niche or Industry?
Religious tourism is often described as a niche. In many ways this is correct, especially if one applies the traditional definition of niche as a “distinct segment of a market.” In this case, it is appropriate to state that religious tourism is a “niche” of the (worldwide) travel market.

However, religious tourism has also grown into an industry of its own, comprising its own multi-billion-dollar “niches.” Although few like to think of missionary travel in terms of “dollars,” missionary travel is today a multi-billion dollar market. With almost two million missionaries and an average trip cost of approximately $1,500 (airfare, transportation, lodging, food, etc.), you can see the obvious economic impact. Pilgrimage travel alone is also a multi-billion dollar market. Religious meetings and conventions is another multibillion dollar market. And Christian conferences and camps is yet another multi-billion dollar market. I think you get the point.

The purpose of pointing out religious tourism as not only a niche but also an industry, is to demonstrate the vast size and economic power of the faith travel market. Some organizations and professionals still cling to the outdated paradigm that faith tourism represents at best the “crumbs” of the travel market. However, for those companies that realized the clout of the religious traveler several years ago, they are now reaping the rewards with new faith-based travel programs.

The Journalistic Questions of Religious Tourism
One of the best ways to “get to know” the state of religious tourism, is to ask and answer the traditional journalistic questions for this industry. The following provides a “who, what, where, when, why, and how” of the religious travel market.

Who comprises religious travel?
The faith tourism industry is comprised of virtually every segment of the travel trade. From a bird’s eye view, this includes tour packagers, travel suppliers, travel agents, and consumers. If you wish to drill down further, the following entities comprise religious tourism: tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, hotels, retreat houses, conference centers, land transportation companies, destinations, tourist boards, convention and visitors bureaus, attractions, museums, theaters, restaurants, and service providers like travel insurance companies.

On the consumer side, religious tourism comprises churches, religious organizations, group planners, and individual faith travelers. Just as some people claim it “takes a village to raise a child,” it really is true that it takes an “industry to operate a religious tour or event.”

What is religious travel?
Religious travel is defined as any of the following:

* Travel to a religious destination site (example: trip to the Holy Land).
* Travel with a spiritual intent (example: Christian conference).
* Leisure travel with a fellowship intent (example: Faith-based cruise).

Where does religious travel take place?
The primary destination for the North American religious traveler (which comprises mostly the Christian and Jewish faiths) has traditionally been Europe and the Biblical lands of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. In regards to missionary travel, South America receives about two-thirds of participants. However, with the recent expansion of faith tourism into other vacation segments, religious groups are turning heavily to North America for their conventions, retreats, cruises, volunteer vacations, adventure trips, student travel, attractions, and short getaways.

When does religious travel occur?
In general, there is little downtime to religious travel. Spring through the fall is abuzz with activity and only the winter may experience a small lull in religious travel. However, even this time of year barely slows down with its Christmas Market tours, youth-group ski trips, and holiday season gatherings and performances.

Why do people embark on religious trips?
The reasons are many and varied. However, most people embark on religious travel for the primary purpose of sharing faith and fellowship together as they explore the world. Other reasons may also include seeking inspiration or “refreshment” in one’s life, the desire to be in the presence of a significant religious event or individual, or to assist others with humanitarian and spiritual needs.

How can I immediately enter or expand my presence in religious tourism?
For companies and organizations, the answer is three-fold:

* Take your existing travel products and services and tailor it slightly to accommodate the religious market.
* Market to your existing religious clientele (6 out of 10 Americans consider faith “very important,” so whether you realize it or not – a good portion of your current database already consists of strong prospects).
* Provide products and services that cater not only to pilgrimage and missionary travel, but also to all 12 vacation segments of faith tourism.
For church and religious group travel planners, the answer is simple:
* Offer your members a full range of religious travel experiences, from pilgrimage to missionary to cruising to retreats to conferences to visiting attractions and more.

Religious Tourism’s Twelve Vacation Segments
As discussed earlier, religious travel is no longer solely defined by pilgrimages and missionary trips. Although these two forms of travel still remain the “heart and soul” of faith-based travel, they are no longer the only choices. In order to be successful in religious tourism, regardless of whether you are a company selling products and services to the faith traveler or you are a group planner hoping to enrich your travel program (or travel ministry), the key is providing the greatest possible breadth of faith travel options. Those who do will thrive and succeed. Here is the insight you need to know about the dozen vacations taken by people of faith:

Pilgrimages
The “heart” of the faith-based travel industry is pilgrimages. What is a pilgrimage? It is a journey to a holy site for a religious purpose. The most common pilgrimages are church or religious group-sponsored trips to the Holy Land and Europe. Traditionally small to medium-size religious tour operators sold these journeys; however, in recent years larger companies have also entered the arena. With an estimated 150 to 200 million people embarking on pilgrimages each year within the Christian faith alone, this form of travel will always remain at the forefront of religious tourism.

Missionary Travel
One of the most popular forms of religious travel is the missions. What is a mission? In short, it is a trip whereby an individual or group travels to another destination (oftentimes to a foreign country) to share one’s faith with the local population while assisting with humanitarian needs. Several million North Americans embark on both short-term missions (several days to two years) and long-term missions (more than two years). Almost any organization providing faith-based travel opportunities should include missionary travel in its portfolio, especially due to its large volume and amount of interest.

Cruising
Today Christians and other faith groups are embarking on cruises in greater numbers than ever before. Whereas twenty years ago only a handful of groups embarked on such travels, today hundreds of churches and religious groups can be found on these trips. Interestingly, surveys show that 75% of all faith-based cruisers are “new to cruising.” Cruising can be in the form of big-ship cruising or river cruising. Caribbean cruises are currently the most popular choice by religious groups followed by Alaska, the Mediterranean, and European or American river cruising. Full-ship faith-based charters continue to grow in popularity with a new one or two popping up each year, many of which are hosted by very large ministry organizations or movements. Among the most popular cruise line choices for faith groups are Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Line, as well as Princess Cruises for their Holy Land itineraries.

Leisure/Getaways
One of the hidden growth areas of religious tourism is churches and religious groups embarking on leisure vacations and getaways. Although no definitive study has yet been published, it is estimated that possibly as much as 20% of all faith-based travel is leisure and getaway travel. Contrary to popular belief, people of faith often enjoy traveling together for no other reason than for leisure and fellowship purposes to destinations such as Hawaii, Canadian Rockies, or nearby resort areas. The relatively new term coined for these trips is “fellowship vacations.”

Conferences/Conventions
A bulwark of the North American religious travel market is conferences and conventions. According to Religious Conference Management Association, almost 15 million people attended about 17,000 religious meetings in 2006. Major international events such as World Youth Day can attract more than one million participants and larger conventions in the United States such as the National Baptist Convention welcomes
about 50,000 visitors. The top 20 Christian music festivals together attract 500,000 thousand ticket-goers annually.

Destinations/Attractions
The era of “budget faith attractions” is essentially over and only first-class facilities are primarily attracting Christians and others today. In the United States, top quality religious attractions welcome millions of visitors collectively each year. These attractions include Sight & Sound Theatre, a “Christian Broadway” featuring Biblical plays, that welcomes 800,000 viewers each year. Other destinations such as the Holy Land Experience (a biblical park), WordSpring Discovery Center (biblical interactive learning center), and Focus on the Family Visitor Center each attract about 250,000 visitors annually. New Christian attractions including Kentucky-based Creation Museum and North Carolina-based Billy Graham Library launched this past summer and expect annual crowds of 250,000 as well. The demand for visiting such sites by people of faith is at an all-time high, very important information for any travel provider or supplier to know.

Retreats/Guesthouses
The concept of embarking on a retreat is centuries old. Today it is a $400-million marketplace with thousands of retreat and guesthouses. Facilities range from budget to luxury and experiences ranging from monastic to bordering on the concept of spas. People of all ages embark on retreats and the demographics of retreatants are very elastic. Guesthouses can often receive anywhere from two people to groups of two-hundred or more.

Christian Camps
More than 120,000 churches participate in Christian camps each year – that is an average of one in four churches. As many Christian youths go through the “ritual” of attending or overnighting at a Christian camp, this market remains a solid fixture in North American religious tourism. Several thousand facilities exist to cater and meet the needs of the estimated eight million Christian camp attendees.

Adventure/Active
One of the more forgotten segments of religious tourism is adventure travel. However, this segment is not one to be missed as thousands of church youth and singles groups embark on skiing, hiking, and other active trips. With more people of faith embarking on both domestic and overseas adventure trips each year, this segment is set for possible explosive growth within religious tourism. One of the key markets here are the many faith-based dating websites which are popping up everywhere and hosting adventure/active trips.

Volunteer Vacations
Although missionary travel receives much of the attention within the Christian world, volunteer vacations have grown into a very popular choice as well. In fact, it has been said that many of the groups assisting with Katrina and other disaster recoveries are faith tourism groups embarking on volunteer vacations. With an estimated 100 million Americans interested in participating such trips and 55 million who already have, people of faith constitute a large portion of these numbers.

Student/Youth
Once you consider that almost three million youth attend approximately 10,000 private religious schools (Catholic, Christian, etc.) exist in North America alone, you can easily imagine the size of this travel market. Like their counterparts the public schools, private faith-based schools host everything from field trips to overseas travel. Add on the fact that many youth also embark on trips with their respective churches and ministry organizations, and you have a very large pool of travelers. A few Christian conventions alone host anywhere from ten thousand youth to forty-thousand. Although no study has yet been conducted on the religious youth market, it is a fair estimate to put the size of this marketplace in the millions of travelers.

Family/Intergenerational
The one market segment of religious tourism least spoken about is family or intergenerational travel. However, when you combine the recent explosion of interest in this travel segment with faith, you possess a trend that has unlimited potential. Where do families of faith travel? In short, virtually everywhere. This segment of religious tourism can be found on everything from pilgrimages to cruising to conferences to (family) retreats.

Market Trends & the Future
What is the future of faith-based travel? What are the expected trends? If there is one story that can sum up the outlook for religious tourism, it is this: in August 2007, the Vatican launched its own charter flight service to transport pilgrims to holy sites worldwide such as Lourdes, Fatima, Santiago de Compostela, Czestochowa (Poland), and Rome. Combine this with the fact that the World Tourism Organization is hosting in the same year an international conference on tourism, religions, and dialogue of cultures. And furthermore, in 2008 the World Religious Travel Association will host the industry’s first-ever international tradeshow and educational conference (www.religioustravelassociation.com).

Taken together, religious travel is poised to grow dramatically both now and in the near future. With many of the world’s largest travel companies entering the foray of faith-based travel, tens of thousands of travel agents now selling to the religious market, and tourist boards from around the world launching new, major religious travel market initiatives, it will not take much time for the global industry to double or triple in size.

All of this translates into one thing: opportunity. For the group travel planner, never before has faith tourism offered so many vacation opportunities and choices. For the travel company and supplier, never before has faith tourism offered so much economic opportunity. Both of these opportunities represent a telltale sign that we’ve entered a new era of faith-based travel. A new, dynamic era of faith-based travel, that is. I would like to be the first to welcome you to this new era – and to discover all its new possibilities and opportunities.

 Printable Version  | published Nov 11, 2007