Abstract
Tourism scholars and players of the sector alike are very interested in the motivations for the tourist’s journey, as they influence the demand—with regard to the choice of the destination and the organization of the trip—and the offer—with regard to the definition of the tourism product. Religious tourism is an important area of the scientific debate on the motivation to travel; part of the literature clearly distinguishes the cultural and laical motivation of tourists (which can be considered religious tourism) from the desire to live an experience of faith (pilgrimage), while today, the orientation of scholars is to bring back under the label “religious” spiritual, religious, and cultural motivations. This study analyzes the case of the city of Pompeii, and it aims to investigate the possible synergy that could be created between the historical-cultural and religious interests of the city, identifying possible strategies for sustainable tourism. The study develops a quali-quantitative analysis of the reviews of the “Pontifical Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii” on TripAdvisor and presents a content analysis on the most frequent words utilized by users to describe their touristic experience.
Highlights
The literature on tourism is very interested in the motivations for the tourist’s journey
Considering that the interaction between these two places is not fully developed, could religious tourism create synergy with cultural tourism in order to contribute to the sustainable development of the city and increase the number of overnight stays in it? The objective of this research is to answer this question by analyzing the phenomenon of religious tourism in Pompeii and reflecting on possible development strategies for the sustainability of Pompeii’s tourism
The work develops a quali-quantitative study on the reviews of Pompeii present on TripAdvisor, a tourist community aimed at sharing travel experiences between tourists
Summary
The literature on tourism is very interested in the motivations for the tourist’s journey. For religious tourism there is a lively debate on the definition of the topic [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Religious journeys are not an emerging phenomenon; religion, the oldest form of noneconomic travel, is still one of the reasons that drives people to travel today [7]. Considering its economic potential—according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in 2016, 27% [8] of international tourist arrivals (about 333 million) were traveling to visit friends and relatives, for religious reasons and pilgrimages, for health treatments, etc.—the places of pilgrimage are beginning to be considered a tourism resource that can be enjoyed by travelers interested in cultural and historical sites [6]. Contemporary pilgrims seek and appreciate other aspects of the destination, enriching their experience of faith with its cultural contents
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