Religious tourism: the fastest growing niche

With 300 million tourists annually, religious tourism is the fastest growing tourism niche worldwide, according to the World Tourism Organization.

Over the past year, we’ve seen that faith tourism is somewhat recession proof because even in tough financial times, people of faith will still travel because thier purchase motivations differ from those of the general leisure traveler. In the case of the religious market, decisions to travel are for reasons such as to fulfill a religious tradition or fulfill a calling. On the other hand, general leisure travelers, whose buying habits are driven by other motives, such as financial resources, are much more susceptible to external circumstances. Therefore, during challenging economic times, the general leisure traveler is more likely to cancel or delay travel plans.

And it’s not just about visiting religious sites, but also about celebrations of religious holidays and rites of passage in one’s life. Take Jewish tourism for instance. Besides the obvious trips to Israel, there are bar and bat mitzvahs, confirmations, weddings, and holidays. Each of these represent not just banquet business, but also, rooms revenue, as relatives fly in and need to overnight to be on hand for the celebratory occasion. Or how about Muslim tourism – Las Vegas hotels are already catering to this niche with prayer rooms and special meals.

More countries, destinations, and attractions are developing marketing and sales campaigns to attract the religious market. In addition, travel wholesalers, cruise lines, and travel agents have also been debuting products and services in ever greater numbers geared towards religious travel.