Religious and

Spiritual Centre,
Fair and Festivals
 Religious Tourism

 Religious tourism, spiritual tourism,

sacred tourism, or faith tourism, is a
type of tourism with two main
subtypes: pilgrimage, meaning travel
for religious or spiritual purposes,
and the viewing of religious
monuments and artefacts, a branch
of sightseeing.
 Pilgrimage is spiritually- or religiously-
motivated travel, sometimes over long
distances; it has been practiced since
antiquity and in several of the world's
religions. The world's largest mass
religious assemblage takes place in
India at the Kumbh Mela, which
attracts over 120 million pilgrims.
Other major pilgrimages include the
annual Hajj to Mecca, required once in
a Muslim's life
 Religious tourism is an important part
of the tourism industry it is called
special interest tourism, which usually
related to the followers of particular
faiths who visit locations that are
considered as holy sites.
 Religious tourism is not a new concept. People
have been traveling to religious sites for years,
but usually, this travel was restricted to people
from the highest echelons of society. These
people used to club religion, culture, and leisure
activities to enjoy their travel. Today, religious
tourism is a niche market, with people traveling
within their country and overseas to specifically
visit religious destinations because
of their beliefs.
 Religious sites are not only visited by
the pilgrims but also visited by non-
religious tourists since they have
cultural, historical and religious
significance.
 Most niche of tourism industry is
directly affected by economic
instability but this religious tourism is
less affected by these economic issues
because the reason for travelling is
very strong and it plays a very
important role in their lives
 Role of Religious Tourism
 Religion plays a crucial role for a person in giving
a cultural identity. Each religion has festivals,
traditions, mythologies which form a part of the
tangible and intangible heritage of the country.
Thus, religion contributes in order to protect this
heritage and also adds to the diversity in the
country.
 Religion helps in creating an ethical framework
and also a regulator for values in day to day life.
This particular approach helps in character
building of a person. In other words, religion acts
as an agency of socialization. Thus, religion helps
in building values like love, empathy, respect, and
harmony.
 Characteristics of religious
tourism
 To perform pilgrimage as an act of
worship.
 To express gratitude, confess sin and to
perform a vow.
 To achieve social and spiritual salvation.
 To commemorate and celebrate certain
religious events.
 To enhance ones knowledge.
Major things to be considered regarding
religious tourism and travel

 Do not assume that faith based tourism is only for one

segment of market.
 The religious and faith based market has the advantage of
appealing people from around the world, of all ages and for
all nationalities.
 Religious tourism is a big business.
 Religious tourism is less prone to economic ups and downs.
 Although any tourism professional can handle this market
but those have faith and spiritual bend of mind can do it
better.
 Connect local secondary industries with
faith based tourism.
 Example
 The concept of religious tourism can be highlighted by
stating the example of the city of Banaras. Banaras is
the city that is located on the banks of river ganga.
The city has around 4000 temples, 3000 heritage sites
and 84 Ghats. The individuals within the country and
even from foreign countries have generated this
viewpoint that if they would bathe in the ganga, they
would be able to repent against their sins. In other
words, in order to obtain forgiveness regarding their
sins or any wrongdoings, they bathe in river ganga one
of the most common aspects of making visits to
religious places is to pray, as all individuals believe
the almighty. In India, the religious places too have
been built with artistic and creative ways that they
have attracted individuals.
Religious and Spiritual Centre
 VAISHNO DEVI: SITUATED ON
TIRKUTA MOUNTAIN IN JAMMU AND
KASHMIR. THE SHRINE IS DEDICATED TO
MAA VAISHNO.THERE ARE THREE
NATURAL ROCK FORMATION KNOWN AS
PINDIES WHICH ARE WORSHIPPED HERE.

AMARNATH: LOCATED IN JAMMU

AND KASHMIR, THE HOLY SHRINE
AMARNATH IS DEVOTED TO LORD
SHIVA. EVERY YEAR A YATRA TO
AMARNATH CAVE IS HELD FOR
PILGRIMS TO WORSHIP THE ICE
STALAGAMITE LINGAM.
 JAMA MASJID: THIS MOSQUE WAS
BUILD BY MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH
JAHAN. IT IS LOCATED IN OLD DELHI IT
CONTAINS SOME RELICS OF THE
MUHHAMAD AND CAN ACCOMMODATE
THOUSANDS OF DEVOTEES TO WORSHIP
TOGETHER.

A]MER SHARIF: IT IS THE MOST

FAMOUS CENTRE OF MUSLIM PILGRIMAGE
IN INDIA. IT IS LOCATED IN RAJASTHAN
AND IS THE RESTING POINT OF SUFI
SAINTS. IT IS SAID THAT ALL THE WISHES
OF THE PERSON WHO PRAYS WITH PURE
HEART
 BASILICA OF BOMB JESUS:
LOCATED IN GOA.IT IS THE FIRST
INDIAN CHURCH TO BE BROUGHT OF
MINOR BASILICA AND IS KNOWN FOR
TOMB OS ST.FRANCIS XAVIER.

LITTLE MOUNT CHURCH: THE

SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF GOOD HEALTH IS
A POPULAR CHURCH IN CHENNAI AND IS
ONE OF THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE
COUNTRY.
 GOLDEN TEMPLE: THE GOLDEN
TEMPLE OF AMRITSAR ALSO KNOWN
AS HARMINDIR SAHIB.IS CONSIDERED
AS THE MOST PROMINENT SHRINE OF
SIKHS. THE FOUR DOOR OF TEMPLE
SYMBOLISE THAT IT IS OPEN FOR ALL
RELIGION AND BELIEFS.

PATNA SAHIB: TAKHT PATNA SAHIB.

ALSO KNOWN AS TAKTH SHRI HARMANDIR
SAHIB, IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE TENTH
GURU SHRI GURU GOBIND SINGH AND IS
SITUATED IN PATNA, BIHAR.
 Fairs and Festivals
 Fairs and Festivals are cultural celebrations that have always occupied a
special place in society. The earliest festivals in human history were
related to plentiful harvests or celebrating the important occasions of
regions or communities. They contribute to the overall well-being of
communities. These celebrations develop social harmony by providing the
community with specific opportunities for accessing and developing
resources, improving social cohesiveness and providing a focus on
cultural conservation. Fairs and Festivals also create opportunities for
visitors to connect with an area, spend time together, celebrate and
experience the diversity of cultures which fosters creativity and
innovation. Today, Fairs and festivals are viewed as part of the travel
product and are therefore considered an important component of the
tourism industry. Special events during the celebrations are organized to
create added value for destinations, which play an important role in
promoting tourism in a destination. Therefore, Fairs and festivals bring
prosperity to the economy, improve the lives of communities and create a
positive image of the destination. The diversification of tourism products
is encouraged to increase the ability to attract visitors to destinations.
India is known as the land of festivals & fairs. Each fair & festival has its
importance in the life of people.
 Prominent Fairs in India
 A fair is an event where people have a good time gathering
together and which offers both the residents and visitors a
joyful experience that can meet diverse community needs.
This helps host communities foster local development,
leadership and networking. The fairs offer an insight into
traditional rural life, beliefs and popular customs in the
country. Fairs are generally specific to a place and
represent the culture of the people residing there Fairs are
organized with a collaborative effort. Partnerships are often
regarded as essential elements for organizing fairs- Local
government, host organization, sponsors and regional
players who are responsible for making affiliations with
local special interest groups. They interact with each other,
building up trusting relationships between each other. You
have learned that India is a land of fairs and festivals.
Almost every part of the country organises some fairs or
the other.
Some of the prominent fairs organised
in India

 Shravani Mela
 Kumbh Mela
 Ganga Sagar Mela
 Crafts Fairs
 Industrial/Trade Fairs
The Kumbh Mela is an important Hindu
pilgrimage fair held by rotation at one of the four
holy pilgrimage destinations- Allahabad,
Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain. In December 2017,
UNESCO had inscribed the event in its list of
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The
Kumbh Mela stands out from other religious fairs
for its liveliness both in the daytime and night-
time and is attended by millions of people
irrespective of caste, creed, or gender. From the
early hours of the morning, the area is filled
with people bathing in the holy river and
performing religious rituals. At night, the
festivities move to the fairground, which opens
its doors to put on various events, attractions
for children, and a long list of activities. One can
take the opportunity to enjoy the unique
atmosphere at the banks of the rivers and
having an unforgettable experience. This mela
attracts tourists from all states of India and is
also very popular with international tourists.
Industrial/Trade Fairs: A trade or an industrial
fair is an event that provides a platform to the
members of a particular industry to display,
demonstrate, their latest products and services
and discuss the market trends, opportunities
and other challenges. Trade fairs are a very
powerful marketing medium. They bring
together thousands of international buyers and
sellers in one place in a short space of time.
They do not just gather together all the
significant players from the industry but enable
visitors to see large numbers of products at the
same time, to evaluate and compare them, to
attend demonstrations and to ask detailed
questions. Trade fairs provide visitors with a
comprehensive overview of the entire
market and industry.
 Important Of Festivals In Tourism

 Preservation of tradition.
 Enhancing Destination Attractiveness.
 Extended Seasonality at Destination.
 Fostering Community Pride and Stronger relationships.
 Destination Development.
 Boosting Local Economy.
 Good and Free Publicity.
 Different Types Of Festivals In
India
 National Festivals.
 Religious Festivals.
 Seasonal and Harvest Festivals.
 Thematic Festivals.
 National festivals connect citizens to
important moments of a nation’s history.
They solidify patriotic spirits in the
society and community celebrations
across the country take place. In India
there are three National holidays that
connect us as people of a nation -
Republic Day, Independence Day
and Gandhi Jayanti

A religious festival is a festival marked by

adherents to specific religious practices. The
religious festivals are commonly celebrated
on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar
calendar. Religious festivals are important for
communities and help to teach principles and
ethics to our next generations. Like Holi,
Deepawali, Id-ul-Fitr, Christmas .
 Seasonal festivals reflect the respect and
harmony of people towards nature. These
festivals are important because they are
celebrated to acknowledge the blessings of
Mother Nature. Most of the seasonal
festivals are related to agricultural activity,
particularly the harvest season. Makar
Sankranti, Baisakhi, Bhogali Bihu, Lohri,
Onam, Pongal etc.

This is not a specific type of festival but refers

to all those festivals where the celebration
focuses on a particular theme. For example
Dance festivals, food festivals, literary
festivals, tribal festivals, Music festivals, Film
festivals, Kite festival, Desert Festival etc.
Such festivals are important from the tourism
point of view as they help attract tourists in
large numbers. There are now specific festivals
organised with tourism as the focal point. Like
Boat Race Festival, Kerala and Taj Mohtsav,
UP.