ICTs in the tourism experience at religious heritage sites: a review of the literature and an investigation of pilgrims’ experiences at the sanctuary of Loreto (Italy)

Silvia De Ascaniis,Marc-Marie Mutangala,Lorenzo Cantoni

doi:10.1080/23753234.2018.1544835

Abstract

The offer of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is, today, wide and varied, and they have reached a ubiquitous diffusion, with a deep impact on any kind of human activity. They are, though, neither goods in themselves nor undoubtably facilitators of experiences. This article investigates the border between ICTs as obstacles and ICTs as supports, taking into consideration the dialectic between religious experience and tourism experience, when it comes to visiting heritage sites of a religious nature. A first investigation of the role ICTs may have in a visit – or pilgrimage – to a Christian place of worship is presented: visitors to the Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto (Italy) were surveyed, with the aim of unveiling differences between a worship-oriented and a tourism-oriented use of ICTs. Findings show that the motivation driving the visit impacts the perception of ICTs and that the religious/spiritual experience needs to be kept personal.

Highlights

Those who have participated in a religious ceremony have probably experienced the situation that while attending the service, in an atmosphere of prayer and concentration, suddenly a phone’s ring starts resonating
Eight people did not come from Italy: that was expected since Loreto mostly receives domestic visitors and because the online survey was only distributed in Italian language
Seven visitors went to Loreto with an organized non-religious tour group, which suggests that devotion was the main motivation for visit

Summary

Introduction

Those who have participated in a religious ceremony have probably experienced the situation that while attending the service, in an atmosphere of prayer and concentration, suddenly a phone’s ring starts resonating. The scene usually goes on with the holder of the phone running out in panic or embarrassedly trying to switch the phone off, while the Minister and the other attendees get distracted and show annoyance This is a situation when digital technologies are perceived more as obstacles than as supports. Smartphones are probably playing the leading role in transforming the travel experience, both because they change the planning of travel activities before, during and after the trip, as well as because they impact travelers’ sense of tourism Their influence is so deep that the travel experience needs to be ‘re-conceptualized’ within the context of mobile technology (Wang and Fesenmaier 2013). It might become an obstacle to a real vacation experience

Methods

Results

Conclusion