Title: Exploring the intersection of religious festivals and tourism approaches: a scoping review

Authors: Jasper Roe; K. Thirumaran; Caroline Wong; Zohre Mohammadi

Addresses: James Cook University, Sims Dr, Singapore ' James Cook University, Sims Dr, Singapore ' James Cook University, Sims Dr, Singapore ' University of Greenwich, London, UK; James Cook University, Sims Dr, Singapore

Abstract: Religious festivals have become significant in the context of global tourism interactions. Recognising their potential, governments are increasingly promoting religious festivals as key tourist events within annual calendars. This study critically reviews relevant literature to analyse the major trends and subjects from the past decade, emphasising their implications for the field of anthropology. To conduct our review, we retrieved peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus Index database. Subsequent classification and critical reading of articles specifically related to religious festivals and tourism was undertaken. Through this process, 44 articles were identified as foundational for our literature analysis, which were then thematically categorised. The findings are further discussed in relation to the cultural dynamics of human travel behaviours and the anthropology of tourism. The significant contribution of this study lies in the identification of a future research agenda.

Keywords: religious festivals; tourism; cultural; pilgrimage; motivations; developments.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2024.138917

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2024 Vol.9 No.3, pp.237 - 260

Received: 04 Oct 2023
Accepted: 12 Mar 2024
Published online: 03 Jun 2024 *

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