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UNIT 6

RELIGIOUS TOURISM (PILGRIMAGE)

Structure
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3
6
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5
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Objectives
Introduction
Historical Perspective of Religious Tourism in India
Designing of Religious Tourism Product
Issues and Considerations for Designing Religious Tourism Products
Characteristics of Religious Tourism
Let Us Sum Up
Clues to Answers

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According to social scientists like Graburn (1977), Jafari (1987), although such journeys may be
regarded as sacred by the travellers concerned but they differ from the more inclusive concept of tourism
as a sacred journey
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As a supplier when
you try to assess demand you are required to identify following interested segments in this type of
tourism
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This Unit starts with a discussion on the historical perspective of religious tourism (pilgr image) and
further goes on to mention its modern concept
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Travel for religious purposes has been there from the most ancient times
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There are also centres of Sufism, churches and mosques that are
visited by people
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In our country all major temples, shrines and sacred spots are found scattered all along major
riverbanks or in the hills
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For example on the day of “Sankranti”
a bath in holy Ganga water is believed to relieve a person of all the sins
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They are Badrinath in North, Kanchipuram in South,
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Dwarkapuri in West and Jagannath Puri in East
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The Indian pilgrims travel to the holy temples, the Indian holy space called “Teerth” which contain the
meaning of “to cross”
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Within the holy space human beings are given the chance to transcend themselves when they come face
to face, in contemplation, with the divinity
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This is primarily because in religious life of an
average Indian, even rivers have played a decisive role
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Among these rivers the Ganga is believed to be the most sacred for all
Hindus
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These holy shrines attract millions of domestic pilgrims every year
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The month of “Kartik” is pious for taking bath in Yamuna at Mathura
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Besides rivers, sacred shrines have been visited extensively by domestic tourists all along the periods
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The Jyotirlingas are at
Kedarmath (Uttaranchal), Kashi Vishwanath (Uttar Pradesh), Somnath (Gujarat), Baijnath (Karnataka),
Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu), Ghushneshwar (Maharashtra), Bhimashankar (Maharashtra),
Mahakaleshwar (Madhya Pradesh), Mallikarjuna (Andhra Pradesh), Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh),
Nageshwar (Gujarat) and Tryambakeshwar (Maharashtra)
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In addition to also holy rivers and sacred shrines situated on the banks of these rivers, “Shakti” is also
worshipped as the Divine mother, a creative power both as an enforcing discipline and for securing
righteousness
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These peethas are visited by
tourists throughout the year
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India is a country
abounding in not only Hindu shrines but she also represents manifestations of elevating and inspiring
works of Jain Tirthankars at Sravasti, Kaushambi, Hastinapur, Parasnath hills, Rajgiris, Khandgiri,
Udaigiri, Khajuraho and Dilwara Temples at Mount Abu
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Sikh religion though believed that real
pilgrimage is inward yet their sacred shrines are located at Garhwal (Hemkund Sahib); Amritsar (Golden
Temple); Taran Taaran (Anandpur Sahib), Kartarpur and Patna Sahib; Churches in Goa
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You have already studied in TS-6,
various concepts and product designing model of Philip Kotler for developing any product
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of product development at core level:
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Core Product,

•

Facilitating Products, and

•

Supporting Products
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Let us apply these product development
issues suggested by Philip Kotler in religious tourism product designing and development on some of the
existing examples of Indian religious products and analyse to what extent this model can be applicable
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Core Product

:

Char Dhams in Himalayas (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarmath and Badrinath)

Facilitating Products

:

Accessibility by rail, road, air, dharamshalas, yatrikas and paying guest
accommodation and eating joints available at and on the way to these sites
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As you know that India has abundance of religious centres running across the country
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What you need to develop/explore is just the
facilitating products
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This temple is 15 metres high
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away and nearest railway stations are at
either Rishikesh (297 kms
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From here at regular intervals connecting bus
services are available
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Supporting Products:
Panch Dharas

:

Prahlad Dhara, Khoma Dhara, Urvashi Dhara, Brin Dhara, Indra
Dhara

Panch Shilas

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Narad Shila, Varaha Shila, Garud Shila, Markandeya Shila and Nari
Narsingh Shila

Tapt Kund

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Here pilgrims are believed to take bath before going into temple for
main darshan

Brahma Kapal

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A platform on the bank of river which is used by pilgrims to perform
rites for the peace to the souls of their ancestors

Sheshnetra

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Site is 1
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away having Sheshnag’s eye and Lord Vishnu’s sacred
foot prints

Narad Kund

:

Located near Tapt Kund, a semi historical site from where Badrinath
idol was rediscovered

Similarly in the case of Kedarnath
Core Product

:

Kedarmath temple with one of 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in the
country
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); nearest railhead is
either from Rishikesh (221 kms
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); nearest bus
station is Gaurikund (14 kms
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There are many forms of lodgings available varying from dharmshalas,
charitable lodgings maintained by individuals to private
accommodations
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Adi lies behind the Kedarmath temple
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e
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Yamunotri
Core Product

:

Perennial river Yamuna (Yamunotri)

Facilitating Products

:

Nearest airport to Yamunotri is Jolly Grant airport and nearest railhead is at
Rishikesh and nearest bus point is Hanuman Chatti which is just 13 kms
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Lodging and eating points are available all along the route between Rishikesh
and Yamunotri
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Supporting Products

:

Diya Shila

:

A rock pillar to be worshipped by every pilgrim before entering into shrine

Hanuman Chatti

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Confluence of Hanuman Ganga and Yamuna rivers

Didi Tal

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It is a sacred pond and popular among Hindu pilgrims

Saptrishi Kund

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It is also a sacred pond

Core Product

:

Perenial Ganga (Gangotri)

Facilitating Products

:

Nearest airport Jolly Grant which lies between Rishikesh and Dehradun,
nearest railhead is at Rishikesh (249 kms
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Gangotri

For lodging Government guesthouses and dharmshalas are available and for
eating only dhabas (local eating joints) are available at and on the route to the
shrine
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To reach this point one has to trek the
difficult terrain; and

Nandan Van Tapovan :

This is the point from where Shivalik peaks can be seen
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However, the conceptual planning and development model would
remain the same
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Many of the
entrepreneurs at Rishikesh have started the practise of offering yoga, meditation or River Rafting on the
banks of Ganga to pilgrims to make their visits more enjoyable and memorable ones
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6
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Moreover, tourists buying holiday/leisure tourism
products desire a variety of recreational resumes at the destination
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As a religious
product designer and developer, you should keep the following considerations to be a successful
entrepreneur/supervisor:
a) Holistic approach should be adopted;
b) All segments of users should be taken care of;
c) Pricing should be moderately done;
d) Infrastructural support should be provided;
e) Environmental and cultural values should be preserved;
f) Packages should be designed combining one or more of the religious products;
A) Holistic Approach should be adopted while designing religious products because if you provide only
temples and shrines at the destination, howsoever strong be the motivation, pilgrims tend to face
boredom
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e
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For instance, if you are promoting Mahabalipuram or
Kanyakumari as religious products you can also design a variety of other activities for all ages along
the seashore or local crafts and customs can also be promoted as a part of total package
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As a marketer or producer this approach will not only increase sale of your
products but will also help you in sustaining the destination on popularity scale
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e
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While designing/packaging the core product, facilitating
product and supporting product you must keep all the classes of users in mind
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Similarly, you should not only provide lodging facilities deluxe hotels, but you are also
required to plan dharamshalas and yatrikas as modes of accommodation for budget class pilgrims
who constitute the majority of the religious tourist community
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In nutshell you shall design/develop your product in such
a manner so that all the segments of pilgrims receive due attention and desired facilities and services
at the points of their visits
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But again all this depends on your marketing strategy, i
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, which market segment
you decide to cater to
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We also know that when in spite of your best efforts pricing cannot be lowered Central/State
Government provides subsidy to Muslim pilgrims to perform their pilgrimage in case of Haj
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Official records reveals that in 1997-98 approximately 177 million domestic travellers were recorded
and 160 millions were pilgrims or religious tourists and roughly 70% of these pilgrims’ availed
concessions
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These statistics clearly reflect that as an intelligent product designer/provider your efforts shall be to
tag your product at an affordable level and to suit the different market segments
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D) Success of any tourism product largely depends upon the infrastructural support, which has been
provided by its designers and developers
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In other words, besides accessibility, other infrastructural activities like connecting
roads, sewage disposal plants, water, electricity, gasolines, telephone lines, bus terminals, railway
stations, accommodation and catering units should also be planned to facilitate the visits of pilgrims
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Nowadays, a large proportion of pilgrims mix up
religious motives with recreation
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As a result, memorable and enjoyable religious visits for pilgrims can be designed
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Therefore, in order to extend their length of stay more and more
facilities shall be designed
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E) Since religious tourism is based on the values, customs, practices, traditions and beliefs, you are
required to upkeep and maintain them
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For example, if you are designing
or developing a religious product for Hindu pilgrims at Char Dham, you are required to ensure that
original environmental and cultural values and beliefs are preserved
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Like, no merry making
activity be allowed during a religious trip to any holy shrine which is a part of either of these
‘dhams’
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We have plenty of such examples like
Vaishno Devi, Badrinath, Kedarmath, Allahabad, Rishikesh, Hardwar and many more to complete
this list
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For an illustration of the abovementioned
issues, considerations and priorities for product designing, let us take this example where the core
product is Vaishno Devi, shrine of Hindus
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This number of pilgrims has increased over a last few years
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In other
words, target market segments are more than one section of the society
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Later section may include honeymoon couples, parents with one child to pay their homage
to Devi for fulfilling their desires or asking for blessings for a happy and prosperous life
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As a product designer and marketer you have following possible segments to target at:
1) Honeymoon makers;
2) Religious tourists;
3) Young parents;
4) Middle aged parents;
5) Old people;
6) Old and affluent sections;
7) Subsidies pilgrims; and
8) Students
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For this class of religious
tourists comfort would be the first priority and price would not be a constraint unlike majority of religious
tourists who consist of all rich, middle class and poor sections of the society
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Some of the
religious tourists, therefore, can be classified as up-market segment, viz
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Among them who are of old age
would like to hire ponies, horses or palanquins to reach to the main shrine
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For example, honeymooners
would like to include Patnitop, Amritsar or any other similar attractions
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They would like to make their lodging arrangements at dharamshalas yatrikas or
small budget class hotels
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For such pilgrims you must focus upon designing and developing facilities which are
affordable to them and they enjoy their pilgrims
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In other words,
whatever you earn a part of it should always be devoted towards the upliftment of the religious region
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This also provides your company the desired publicity
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5 CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIOUS TOURISM
As in other categories of tourism, there are also wide variations in the practices of religious tourism
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Among Hindus visit to Kailash Sarovar is of highest value and visit to Amarnath is of great value
whereas visit to Badrinath, Kedarnath is of some value
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Some are believed to be more significant and rewarding from spirituality point
of view than others (Eickelman and Piscaton, 1990)
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With the objective of
attaining one or more of the below stated purposes of the travel, viz
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In both the
religions, belief goes that all healthy and financially capable of undertaking such travel must visit the
holy shrine at least once in their life time
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A visit to sacred site devoted to god/goddess we believe in, to facilitate communication with the
ruling deity of the shrine for such help
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c) To achieve social and spiritual salvation: Socially, taking religious trips is a mark of piety which
carries significance in almost all societies
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Another aspect related to their characteristic is this that among
all religions it is common to find older members performing pilgrimage as a stage of retiring from
social life and as a mark of final departure from this world
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For example, when
Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya, when Lord Krishna was born, when Christ was reborn, when Prophet
Mohammad was born or died all these events are carefully documented in our mythologies or other
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sacred tenets such events are re-enacted during religious festivities to commemorate these events
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e) To be in communication with co-religionists: This motivation/purpose of religious travel is applied
on most of the religious meetings which can be missionary or religious visits (pilgrimages)
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In nutshell it must be clear to you now that a great deal of travel is required to accomplish the above
mentioned religious purposes
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Check Your Progress
1) Discuss evolutionary stages of religious tourism in Indian societies
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6 LET US SUM UP
With the passage of time religious tourism has gradually evolved from its stoic and ascetic character in
the past to become a partially hedonistic pursuit
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The factor which supports the optimism is that it is only
within the last decade or so that the religious authorities in India have begun to preach on the spiritual
virtues and to listen to these religious gurus, people in large number have started moving from one place
to another
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However, as a product designer/ developer you must remember that
religious tourism in the form of pilgrimage contributes both economically and culturally to the countries
and communities where holy sites are located be it India, Mecca, Jerusalem or Nepal
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7 CLUES TO ANSWERS
Check Your Progress
1) Refer Sec
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1
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6
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