The use of information and communication technologies in religious tourism

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the religious tourism industry, evidencing how useful they can be in this specific tourism context, as they are in the tourism industry in general. Deconstructing whether religious tourism is conducted for purely religious motives or not is not the aim of this chapter. Instead, for the purposes of this chapter, religious tourism is a type of tourism that includes a religious site as a destination or a pilgrimage to a religious site or religious event, regardless of the traveler's motivation. The chapter highlights several uses of ICTs in religious tourism contexts and how religious sites, events and pilgrimages can be more effectively managed. Finally, ICTs can contribute to advancing religious tourism research. Indeed, tools such as tracking devices can help researchers and managers gain more comprehensive knowledge of religious tourists’ behaviors regarding, for example, entry/exit times, length of stay and hotspots for crowd gathering.