Tourism and religion: sacred spaces as transmitters of heritage values

Abstract

Religious heritage can act as a transmitter of the age-old values linked to the identity of a territory, while reflecting on the relationship between the religious value and the monumental value of a place. This reflection is based on the initial premise that at present there are elements related to the architectural heritage of the church that have wholly or in part lost their use value as places of worship. After introducing the relationship between tangible and intangible heritage at religious sites and the role of tourism helping in the preservation (or not) of these values, the current situation is analyzed through a case study. The case study is focused on the Catalonia Sacra project and analyses 325 religious heritage sites from the region of Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain. Several sets of data were collected referring to the monumental and architectural values of these places and also the religious use of them, among others, with the aim to compare the relationship between the monumental values and the religious use of these sites.

Tourism Accessibility and Its Impact on the Spiritual Sustainability of Sacred Sites

“…They are places where a hierophany has taken place [62], or so is perceived by the community of believers [6]. Rituals and cult practices also mean to perpetuate the connection between what is transcendent and the human dimension, and contribute to the maintenance of the spirit of the place or the spiritual sustainability [3,4,52,66]. According to the results, sacred places in both regions have relatively high scores in terms of the religious significance, as most of the places obtained a score of 10 or more out of 16, with a few exceptions in the case of Catalonia.…”

“…A sacred place, often referred to as a holy site or sacred site, is defined as the result of the individualization of landscape perception and its nature, both the religious and historical, social, geographical, and cultural [1,2]. Therefore, it can be both a strictly motivated destination of wandering (pilgrimage), as well as a place with dominant features of regional or local culture and historical or religious heritage elements [3].…”

Paranormal Tourism: Market Study of a Novel and Interactive Approach to Space Activation and Monetization

“…Like other forms of niche tourism, however, it seemingly reflects what consumers value or desire. This includes a sense of authenticity and even transformation (see, for example, Aulet & Vidal, 2018;Belhassen et al, 2008;Bremer, 2006;Fu et al, 2018;Gil de Arriba, 2006;Huang & Pearce, 2019;Kirillova et al, 2017aKirillova et al, , 2017bPaulauskaite et al, 2017;Shackley, 2002). Paranormal tours are conducted by foot, carriage, bus, trolley, Segway, or even a hearse.…”

“…This can add new dynamism or layers of complexity to particular settings or locations, especially when coupled with the Adaptability and Participatory Nature of paranormal narratives. On this point, Aulet and Vidal (2018) noted that, "The religious comprehension of a place creates a particular set of spaces, while tourist interpretations produce a different type of space" (p. 241). Thus, some tour operators endeavor to establish their markets as "known" for ghosts, even when this is lacking in the larger public perception.…”

Religious Routes and Destinations: A polymorphic social approach

“…The religious monuments/attractions that are typically of aesthetic/ artistic value and very often have a harmonious relationship with the environment and the historical continuity of the local communities, attract not only the faithful pilgrims, but also excursionists, artists, environmentalists, tourists, researchers and academic groups with an interest in the language, the iconography, the architecture and the sculpture of these monuments. As the religious sites integrate religious and cultural values and have religious meaning and monumental value (Aulet andVidal, 2018, Andriotis, 2009), the hypothesis that all aspects together form a multi-level experience to the visitors is justifi ed and worth to be further examined. Th is way, the research interest turns from the aim to diff erentiate and classify the pilgrims and tourists in motivational categories to better understand the sites of interest as integrative and multilevel networks of human (religious, socio-cultural, touristic) action in modernity.…”