The Role of Religious Tourism in the Economic Development of Europe

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IMPACT OF RELIGION IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
THE IMPACT OF RELIGION IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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IMPACT OF RELIGION IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Table of Contents
Background of the research.............................................................................................................2
Research question and objectives....................................................................................................2
Research questions.......................................................................................................................2
Objectives of the research............................................................................................................2
Literature review..............................................................................................................................3
Introduction:................................................................................................................................3
Tourism development in Europe:................................................................................................3
Impact of religion in tourism:......................................................................................................4
Problem and risks in religious tourism:.......................................................................................5
Method.............................................................................................................................................6
Introduction:................................................................................................................................6
Research philosophy:...................................................................................................................6
Research design...........................................................................................................................6
Research approach.......................................................................................................................6
Data sources.................................................................................................................................7
Data technique.............................................................................................................................7
Sampling method.........................................................................................................................7
Time scale........................................................................................................................................8
Resources.........................................................................................................................................9
Travel cost...................................................................................................................................9
Photocopy cost.............................................................................................................................9
Cost of accessing online database:..............................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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IMPACT OF RELIGION IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Background of the research
The inclusion of the religious aspect to the developments of the travel and tourism industry can
be beneficial for the economy of the concerned country. In case of the European countries, a
number of tourist attractions are there that attracts people from all over the world. On the other
hand, the collaboration of the religion and tourism industry helps to develop the economy of the
concerned country and in case of the European countries, the collaboration of the religion and
tourism is evident. On the other hand, it can also be stated that the development of the religious
perspectives with that of the tourism industry would help t increase the developmental rate of the
European countries (Raj and Griffin, 2015). In order to earn economic profit, the developmental
option is adequate for the countries within Europe. Apart from these factors, the inclusion of the
religion n the tourism and travel industry is beneficial as it not only helped to earn foreign
currency from the international tourists, but also in terms of employability, this collaboration
helps to increase the place of the Europe in the global map (Bond et al. 2015).
Research question and objectives
Research questions
1. How the religion factor can influence the tourism development in Europe?
2. How religion can help in earning revenue and economic profit in tourism development?
3. What are constraints that may come into the way of implementing religion in tourism
development?
Objectives of the research
The objectives that can be developed through the impact of religion in the tourism development
in the context of Europe, has been mentioned below:
 To know how religion can influence the tourism development in Europe
 To obtain knowledge over the process of revenue and profit earning through the religion
implementing in tourism development

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 To know the issues and problems related to the implementation of religion in tourism
development
Literature review
Introduction:
The development of the tourism in the Europe has been enhanced as a number of tourist
destinations are there that attract tourist from every corners of the world. The aspect of tourism
development in the European countries are mostly depended over the historical places that
includes churches, chapels, cathedrals, forts and other significant memoirs. For having the best
effects of the tourism management, it can be stated that the dimensions of the tourism
development should be enhanced.
Tourism development in Europe:
The tourism industry is one of the important industries of the continent that help of the economy
of the countries to obtain the better growth and development by earning foreign currencies. The
countries in the Europe are the leading tourist destinations of the world and people from all
classes and from all the corners of the world come to the European countries in purpose of
tourism.
According to the World Tourism Organization, comprehensive overviews of the tourism
development in the Europe can be obtained. Following the overviews, it can be stated that the
development of the employment sector in the Europe and the overall development of the
economy of the country can be influenced by the travel and tourism industry of the world. By
understanding the development of the tourism industry in the Europe, it is evident that the travel
and tourism industry in the continent have contributed 782 billion Euros to GDP in 2018, as
stated by Terzidou et al. (2018). At the same time, the industry also provided 14.4 million jobs
according to the direct employments for the country. Therefore, it can be said that the tourism
development in the continent has been proved as one of the significant industry. The multiannual
financial framework (MFF) developed for the timescale of 2014- 2020 has been implemented.
Moreover, a separate tourism policy has been developed and implemented in the countries
included in the European Union, as opined by Alvarado-Sizzo et al. (2017).

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IMPACT OF RELIGION IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
It is the aim of the European tourism council to develop the place of Europe and make it as the
prime tourist destination of the world. In order to do so, the organization has invited the private
organizations to take part in the tourism development plans. It not only helps to save the cost of
the tourism industry, but also the development of the tourist destinations are enhancing,
according to the statements by El-Gohary et al. (2017). Therefore, some measures such as
‘Designing Tourism for Quality of Life and Value Added’ along with the primary development
of the tourism industry by adding value propositions and stakeholders in to the developmental
plans.
Impact of religion in tourism:
Adding the religious aspects with the tourism development in the niche markets is being
considered as the current trend; however, it is not always necessary for the development of the
tourism industry. In the European countries, developments of the tourism industry are expanding
and thus, the inclusion of the religious aspect has been accepted in to it. Moreover, many tourists
focus over the religious places while planning a vacation or a tour. Thus, in order to enhance
their experience and retain them, the religious angle has been included in the development of the
tourism industry in the European countries.
Technological advancements have also played a major role into the development of the religious
tourism in the European countries. According to CHOWDHURY et al. (2017), a number of
television channels have been introduced for the European audience and the other audience
around the corners of the world that preaches religious sermons. However, all of these channels
are also responsible for the development of the religious tourism as they broadcast the different
religious places around the Europe and share information regarding them. Mapping of the world
heritage sites has been developed by these channels and thus, the tourism industry of the Europe,
from the religious aspects can be grown.
Not only the international tourists, but also the local tourists have been con tribute into the
development of the travel and tourism industry of the Europe. It can be stated that the religious
places should be included in the tourism plans of the countries as people, both local and
international keep coming to the places repeatedly, as stated by Eade (2016). Therefore, it can be

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stated that it is the impact of religion that helps to develop the economy of the country, but also
the frequent visitors keep active the places.
Problem and risks in religious tourism:
Some risk factors and the issues are evident in the development of the religious tourism into the
context of the European countries. It can be stated that the development of the religious tourism
in the European countries have face problems and risks that interrupted their developments. The
problems and the risks have been listed below:
Infringement of the carrying capacity: It has been seen that most of the religious tourist
attraction of the country has to experience problems regarding the carrying capacity. Most of
them have their schedule time, at least once in a year. That time of the year has to experience a
rush of people and the related activities such as lodging and transports can suffer from the over
boarding of the people. It has been seen that the carrying capacity of the hotels are lodges are
needed to be developed, according to Różycki and Dryglas (2017). On the other hand, as people
from all the economic classes come to the religious places, they cannot afford luxurious options
of the transport and lodging. However, many places regarding the religious tourist attractions
cannot be able to provide such options.
Waste management practice: In many places, usage of plastics has not been barred yet.
However, the use of plastics has been developed and affected, the environment and the
ecological balance of the places. The lack of waste management practice in the organization is
affecting the religious tourism practice in the European countries.
Monetizing religious aspect: By the implementation of the religious aspect with the travel and
tourism in the European countries, it can be stated that the development of the religious aspects
id enhancing in as many niches as possible. As a result, as stated by Irimias et al. (2016) the
development of the monetization of the religious aspects can be grown. Therefore, the religious
aspects can be reduced in terms of significance in tourism.

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Methods
Introduction:
For the development of the travel and tourism industry in the Europe and the impact of religion
into it, some methods are required to be predefined. The factors included in the methods have
been portrayed here along with their justification.
Research philosophy:
For conducting the research, it is required that the logical coherence should be developed. Often
an assumption process has been developed by the researcher for completing the research process.
The use of the positivism as the research philosophy has been suggested here in order to have the
right outcome of the research (Butler and Suntikul, 2018). This philosophy would help to apply
the logics in the research topic and the detailed description of the research process would be
allowed here.
Research design
In this particular research, the use of the descriptive research is suggested. The reason behind
using the research design is that it helps to describe the process that has been used in order to
explain the relationship between the religion and the travel and tourism industry in Europe. Apart
from the description, the use of the descriptive research design would also help to find the extent
of the influenced that religion has over the travel and tourism industry (Kumar, 2019). It has
been seen that the state occurrence of the events along with their cause and effects has been
described by the descriptive research design.
Research approach
The implementation of the research approach is necessary for understanding of the format of the
research. A research topic can be defined in terms of the two research approaches, such as –
deductive and inductive. For this research, the deductive research would be the best suitable
research approach. The reason behind using this particular research approach is that this research
approach helps to define and justify the relation of the religion and the travel and tourism
industry with the help of the theoretical concepts (Mackey and Gass, 2015). Much precise and
clear manner should be developed by the research approach. Thus, the deductive research

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approach would be the most suitable research approach as no new theory or concept is to be
invented by the research and the research is developing over the available information and
theory.
Data sources
The sources of data used for the development of the research can be classified into two sections,
such as primary and secondary. The primary data involves the raw data that has been explored
from the first hand sources such as the interviews and the survey among the respondents. On the
contrary, the secondary source of data can be developed from the information and data generated
from the sources such as books, journals, reports and the annual report of the organizations for
their statistical information (Flick, 2015). In this particular research, both the primary and the
secondary data have been generated for obtaining the right information and data. Moreover,
these data information would also help in achieving the right outcome of the research.
Data technique
For obtaining the right result, it is needed that the data and information should be collected from
the respondents by the right tools. The data technique includes the quantitative and the
qualitative techniques that can be used for achieving the right result of the result. It has been seen
that the qualitative technique defines the data techniques where the interviews has been taken.
On the contrary, the quantitative techniques can be used in order to conduct the survey among
the respondents (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2017).
In this research, the mixed method has been applied. The mixed method is included of both the
quantitative and the qualitative techniques. Thus, the interviews would be conducted among the
managers of the tourism development organizations and the survey would be conducted among
the tourists that have come to the different religious tourist destinations of Europe.
Sampling method
In order to conduct the research, the numbers of people that are related with the research are
needed to be defined. It has been seen that the sample size is needed to be mentioned for the
development of the research. It has been seen that for the generation of the research, 55 tourists
has been selected for the survey process, whereas 5 managers of the tourism development

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organizations throughout the different countries has been selected. For the selection of the survey
respondents, the simple random sampling method has been taken, as no such criteria have been
associated with it (Walliman, 2017). On the contrary, for choosing the respondents for the
interview process, non-probability sampling technique has been applied.
Timescale
Main activities/ stages Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Selection of the research topic 
Collection of data from the secondary
sources like books and journals
 
Developing the primary layout of the
research

Reviewing the information taken from the
secondary sources
  
Creating the research plan  
Selecting the research technique according
to the criteria of the research
 
Collection of data from the primary sources  
Analysing the collected data and developing
interpretation
 
Findings from the Data 
Generating the conclusion from the study 
Development of the final draft of the
research process
 
Submission of Final research work and
evaluation
 
Table 1: Gantt chart
(Source: Learner)

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IMPACT OF RELIGION IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Resources
A number of costs can be included in the generation of the research and the costs that are
included into it should be identified for understanding the total cost of the research. The
researcher must have the adequate funds in order to conduct the research properly. Otherwise,
the research would not be completed properly and the outcome of the research would be affected
by it. Thus the below listed resources would be included into the fund requirements of the
research:
Travel cost
As the research has been included into the various religious tourist destinations of the different
countries of Europe, the travelling cost to the areas would be high. However, it is necessary for
conducting of research, as the respondents of the survey and the interviews should be collected
from the different destinations (McCusker and Gunaydin, 2015).
Photocopy cost
Many information and data regarding the research should be collected from the secondary
sources of data, such as the books, reports, journals and other online database. However, many
books are required to be taken from the library and cost for photocopying them would be
included into the cost of the research.
Cost of accessing online database:
In order to collect adequate data and information, it is necessary that along with the books,
reports, journals and the other resources, the online database and online library can be accessed.
However, in order to access some of those online database and libraries, subscriptions are needed
to be paid (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2017). Thus, it is required that this cost should be included
into the resources needed for the generation of the research and obtain right outcome.

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References
Alvarado-Sizzo, I., Frejomil, E.P. and Crispín, Á.S., 2017. Religious tourism in southern
Mexico: Regional scopes of the festival of the Immaculate Conception. Geoforum, 83, pp.14-25.
Alvesson, M. and Sköldberg, K., 2017. Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative
research. Sage.
Bond, N., Packer, J. and Ballantyne, R., 2015. Exploring visitor experiences, activities and
benefits at three religious tourism sites. International Journal of Tourism Research, 17(5),
pp.471-481.
Butler, R. and Suntikul, W., 2018. Tourism and religion: issues and implications. Channel View
Publications Ltd.
CHOWDHURY, A., Raj, R., Griffin, K. and Clarke, A., 2017. Terrorism, tourism and religious
travellers. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 5(1).
Eade, J., 2016. Parish and pilgrimage in a changing Europe. In Migration, transnationalism and
Catholicism (pp. 75-92). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
El-Gohary, H., Edwards, D.J. and Eid, R. eds., 2017. Global perspectives on religious tourism
and pilgrimage. IGI Global.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Irimias, A., Mitev, A. and Michalko, G., 2016. Demographic characteristics influencing religious
tourism behaviour: Evidence form a Central-Eastern-European country. International Journal of
Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 4(4), p.3.
Kumar, R., 2019. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications
Limited.
Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.

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McCusker, K. and Gunaydin, S., 2015. Research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed
methods and choice based on the research. Perfusion, 30(7), pp.537-542.
Raj, R. and Griffin, K.A. eds., 2015. Religious tourism and pilgrimage management: An
international perspective. Cabi.
Różycki, P. and Dryglas, D., 2017. Mining tourism, sacral and other forms of tourism practiced
in antique mines-analysis of the results. Acta Montanistica Slovaca, 22(1).
Terzidou, M., Scarles, C. and Saunders, M.N., 2018. The complexities of religious tourism
motivations: Sacred places, vows and visions. Annals of Tourism Research, 70, pp.54-65.
Walliman, N., 2017. Research methods: The basics. Routledge.