A Research on the Investigation of the Attitudes of the Local People in Eskişehir Towards Faith Tourism

Abstract

Tourism has been gaining more shares in countries' economies. Therefore, countries are looking for alternative ways to diversify their tourism products to have a bigger share from tourism. Eskişehir is a province in Turkey which has been attracting more and more visitors and increasing its income from tourism. This study aims to find out the perceptions of the people in Eskişehir regarding faith tourism considering that residents' perceptions and attitudes are important for a successful promotion of faith tourism in a region. To base the study on a theoretical framework, a comprehensive literature review was conducted on faith tourism. Then the assets of Eskişehir which could have a potential for faith tourism were listed. A questionnaire was adapted and then used to gather the views of the people in Eskişehir regarding faith tourism. It was found that the people in Eskişehir did not perceive faith tourism as a threat in general; rather they perceived it as an opportunity for touristic development in the city.

Development and validation of an experience scale for pilgrimage tourists

“…Many destinations are eager to host contests and events or festivals for consumption by tourists (Florek & Insch, 2011), as well as provide touristic or leisure experiences with social and cultural perspectives (Kruger, Rootenberg, & Ellis, 2013). According to statistics from the World Religious Travel Association, over 300 million pilgrimage tourists have traveled to sacred sites, contributing an estimated US$18 billion of revenue to the industry (Gill, Packer, & Ballantyne, 2018;Uysal, 2019;Wright, 2007). Pilgrimages engender clear economic benefits due to the number of tourists participating in pilgrimages and the diverse services offered by disciples along pilgrimage paths.…”