Religious Tourism and Sustainable Development: Perspectives …
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will have a deep impact on environmental sustainability, because they have a more
expansive interaction at the destination (Gong et al. 2019). It has been noticed that
even when tourists are concerned and willing to adopt sustainable and responsible
behaviours, the absence of suitable products and experiences made it difficult for
them, and many did not know how to go about it (CREST 2018).
Promoting spiritual tourism: In addition to religious tourism, the efforts should
focus on spiritual tourism, which offers visitors relief from the busy, stressful
lifestyles in the form of yoga, meditation and self-care retreats. ‘Spiritual tourism
has a unique identification’. The professionalism, systematic channel and customer
experience need to be better managed and executed (Rawal and Sah 2017). The states
can learn from the example of Kerala, a state that has marketed itself as a hub for
self-discovery and self-care and created a surge in tourism by combining cultural and
experiential elements along with the other attractions successfully. In addition, the
role of celebrity influence on improved tourism can be clearly seen in Kerala (Bandyopadhyay and Nair 2019). Spiritual tourism is inclusive in nature and yields more
benefits when compared to promoting religion-based tourist circuits, as is popular
in India. It provides a comprehensive and niche package to domestic and foreign
visitors (Medhekar and Haq 2012). A religious tourist is completely motivated by
religious reasons, while a spiritual tourist is concerned with self-growth and more
likely to visit places related to the faith practised (Suri and Rao 2014).
Targeted marketing: There is lack of understanding and poor segmentation of visitors. The focus should be on enhancing consumer satisfaction and visitor segmentation based on age, income and purpose; and promote sites and activities to potential
visitors (Gautam 2012; Suri and Rao 2014).
Improving infrastructure: It would be advisable that government agencies focus
attention on the infrastructure issues to create holistic, comfortable and safe experiences for visitors (Shinde 2018). Most of the experts added that areas such as road
infrastructure, air and rail connectivity, and quality and affordable hotels need huge
investment from the government. Because of these issues, the state fails to attract
many tourists, particularly the high-end tourists. For such tourists, the time, cost
and connectivity are some of the most important criteria for vacation planning. For
example, a trip from New Delhi to Shimla by road typically takes 10–14 h by road.
There is no direct train from New Delhi to Shimla, and air connectivity is poor. Such
aspects have compelled high end tourists to go to overseas tourist destinations such
as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Dubai because it saves time, have
high air connectivity, and provide wide hotel options at a very competitive price.
The largest share of tourists to this region comes from the capital region comprising
Delhi, and the adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Better road
network and lesser travel time will increase the number of visitors further (Akihito
2017). Public-private partnership is recommended for infrastructure development
and forest conservation, instead of giving free rein to private developers (Parmar
2012).
Promoting responsible tourism: Responsible tourism needs to be promoted.
‘Responsible Tourism is about taking responsibility for making tourism better’
(Goodwin 2019). The disregard and habit of littering at public places have tarnished
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will have a deep impact on environmental sustainability, because they have a more
expansive interaction at the destination (Gong et al. 2019). It has been noticed that
even when tourists are concerned and willing to adopt sustainable and responsible
behaviours, the absence of suitable products and experiences made it difficult for
them, and many did not know how to go about it (CREST 2018).
Promoting spiritual tourism: In addition to religious tourism, the efforts should
focus on spiritual tourism, which offers visitors relief from the busy, stressful
lifestyles in the form of yoga, meditation and self-care retreats. ‘Spiritual tourism
has a unique identification’. The professionalism, systematic channel and customer
experience need to be better managed and executed (Rawal and Sah 2017). The states
can learn from the example of Kerala, a state that has marketed itself as a hub for
self-discovery and self-care and created a surge in tourism by combining cultural and
experiential elements along with the other attractions successfully. In addition, the
role of celebrity influence on improved tourism can be clearly seen in Kerala (Bandyopadhyay and Nair 2019). Spiritual tourism is inclusive in nature and yields more
benefits when compared to promoting religion-based tourist circuits, as is popular
in India. It provides a comprehensive and niche package to domestic and foreign
visitors (Medhekar and Haq 2012). A religious tourist is completely motivated by
religious reasons, while a spiritual tourist is concerned with self-growth and more
likely to visit places related to the faith practised (Suri and Rao 2014).
Targeted marketing: There is lack of understanding and poor segmentation of visitors. The focus should be on enhancing consumer satisfaction and visitor segmentation based on age, income and purpose; and promote sites and activities to potential
visitors (Gautam 2012; Suri and Rao 2014).
Improving infrastructure: It would be advisable that government agencies focus
attention on the infrastructure issues to create holistic, comfortable and safe experiences for visitors (Shinde 2018). Most of the experts added that areas such as road
infrastructure, air and rail connectivity, and quality and affordable hotels need huge
investment from the government. Because of these issues, the state fails to attract
many tourists, particularly the high-end tourists. For such tourists, the time, cost
and connectivity are some of the most important criteria for vacation planning. For
example, a trip from New Delhi to Shimla by road typically takes 10–14 h by road.
There is no direct train from New Delhi to Shimla, and air connectivity is poor. Such
aspects have compelled high end tourists to go to overseas tourist destinations such
as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Dubai because it saves time, have
high air connectivity, and provide wide hotel options at a very competitive price.
The largest share of tourists to this region comes from the capital region comprising
Delhi, and the adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Better road
network and lesser travel time will increase the number of visitors further (Akihito
2017). Public-private partnership is recommended for infrastructure development
and forest conservation, instead of giving free rein to private developers (Parmar
2012).
Promoting responsible tourism: Responsible tourism needs to be promoted.
‘Responsible Tourism is about taking responsibility for making tourism better’
(Goodwin 2019). The disregard and habit of littering at public places have tarnished