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Abstract
This study investigates tourist’s motivations for visiting religious sites in Lesvos, a religious destination island in Greece. Data was collected in Lesvos during the Orthodox Easter period of 2013 implementing a sample of 210 tourists who had visited a monastery during their stay on the island. In order to measure tourists’ motivation for religious site visitation in Lesvos, 15 motivation components were used. Data analysis included descriptive analysis and factor analysis. The findings based on descriptive statistics (Mean Scores) suggest that the main reasons for visitation to monasteries and churches in Lesvos Island were pilgrimage motives, i.e. “To worship”, “I have made a vow” and “In order to get well (health reasons)”. On the other hand, the reasons with the lowest Mean Scores regarding visitation to monasteries and churches in Lesvos Island were secular reasons: “It is in “fashion”- it is trendy”, “To do shopping”, and for “Research /educational reasons”. Factor analysis of the motivations components identified 3 factors, interpreting 66.5% of the total variance, i.e. “Secular and cultural motives”, “Pilgrimage motives”, and “Spiritual motives”. The findings of this research offer important practical implications for promoting Lesvos for religion tourism.
Highlights
Religious tourism regards to visitors who “are partially or exclusively motivated for religious reasons” (Rinschede, 1992:52)
This research deals with the components of religious tourism motivation, a topic very little researched; and covers this gap
It had as objectives to record previous visitation and purpose of previous visitation to Lesvos Island
Summary
Religious tourism regards to visitors who “are partially or exclusively motivated for religious reasons” (Rinschede, 1992:52) This is presented with the pilgrim-tourist path continuum developed by Smith (1992). Tarlow (2011), states that religious travel is estimated at a value of USD 18 billion dollars and 300 million travellers yearly being one of the fastest growing segments in travel and tourism. Having this in mind, the Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO) has produced downloadable leaflets with an indicative list of 100 religious monuments (Real Society, 2012) in order to increase religious tourism
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