Secular pilgrimages and sacred tourism in the Indian Himalayas

Abstract

Assuming the above quote as a true portrayal of pilgrims, this article attempts to describe the prototypical pilgrim from amongst the wide array of contemporary religious and secular tourists. To achieve this end, two approaches have been adopted. Firstly, the phenomenon/concept of pilgrimages have been discussed, so to distinguish it from the tourism phenomenon and; Secondly, the geographical notion of genus loci has been employed to exemplify the fundamental quest for 'geopiety' attained through the unification of the pilgrim's intrinsic belief with its external location. The second part of the article illustrates the forgoing through an exploration of Himalayan pilgrimages. This has been achieved with a discussion of the emerging practices and recent trends in Himalayan pilgrimology. This appraisal alludes to Cohen's quest for a 'Theology of Tourism.' The article concludes with an examination of a specific genre of contemporary tourists in the Indian Himalayas, who have been identified as 'environmental pilgrims.'Pilgrims are persons in motion, passing through territories not their own and seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well -a goal to which only the spirit's compass points the way.-Richard Niebuhr in Morgan 2004: 20

The Factor Structure of Tourist Satisfaction at Pilgrimage Destinations: the Case of Medjugorje

“…Despite the significant relationship between pilgrimage and tourism, available papers from the tourism literature primarily deal with defining pilgrimage as a phenomenon (e.g. Cohen, ; Singh, ; Skrbiš, ; Andriotis, ) and differences between pilgrims and regular tourists (e.g. Pfaffenberg, ; Nolan and Nolan, ; Fleischer, ; Griffiths, ), whereas fewer focus on issues related to the management and marketing of sacred sites and respective destinations (e.g.…”

Contributions of the cryosphere to mountain communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: a review

“…The scenic beauty of the HKH and the sacredness ascribed to the landscape make the region a highly valued tourist destination-both for leisure tourism and pilgrimage. Here, we refer to secular and sacred tourism as one entity, although there are conceptual differences between the two (Singh 2005). Tourism is on the rise in the vicinity of the cryospheric zone where features of the cryosphere, such as glaciers, wetlands, and scenic mountains, are major tourist attractions.…”

Potensi Pasraman Hindu sebagai Tujuan Pariwisata Spiritual

“…Pencarian ini berbasis kepada pencarian agama-agama kuno dan tradisional. Oleh karena itu, India, China, dan Bali yang masih beragama Hindu dan Buddha kuno menjadi tujuan pariwisata spiritual (Singh, 2006;Gao dkk, 2011;Sutarya, 2016). Singh (2006:220) menyebutkan Himalaya sebagai tujuan pariwisata spiritual, Gao dkk (2011:197) menyebutkan Sangrila, China sebagai tujuan pariwisata spiritual, dan Sutarya (2016) menyebutkan pasraman Hindu di Bali seperti Ashram Ratu Bagus juga menjadi tujuan pariwisata spiritual.…”