Once again this year, the Abbey of Montserrat, together with the University of Girona, the University of Barcelona and the International University of Catalonia, are organizing these conferences dedicated to reflection and debate in the specific field of Religious tourism, in which I have the pleasure of participating in this edition. The sessions will take place on March 4 and 5, 2013.
What is Religious Tourism?
He Religious tourism It is a growing and constantly evolving reality. Its origins date back to ancient times, with the organization of pilgrimages to places that were considered sacred.
Although the Religious tourism It is born from the desire to get in touch with God, and from the point of view of the people who practice it, it can be considered a tourist trip where the religious element is a main objective, in addition to the desire to move, to rest, the desire to discover new landscapes, new people, to discover the cultural heritage, etc.
This means that it can be given the promotional and organizational treatment of any tourist event, without losing sight of its main objective, which is religion... although it should be noted that, at an academic level, the difference between a "pilgrimage" and an act of "religious tourism" is that in a pilgrimage the objective is the journey to reach the sacred place, and in a religious one, the objective is the journey to reach the sacred place. Religious tourism The sacred place is considered part of the journey, but not the final destination… academically we could consider the Religious tourism a variant of Cultural Tourism, but with a religious orientation.
Controversial approaches to religious tourism
Some people are outraged by the use of the term “Religious tourism”, they believe that it is the result of the secularization that affects the whole world. I do not hold this opinion. From the pastoral point of view and specifically from Catholic Monasteries and Shrines, I think that this form of tourism is a unique opportunity to make the word of God known, while showing the magnificent cultural heritage of the Church, making known its customs, rites and life in its communities. And of course, it can also be considered a source to raise funds for the maintenance of this heritage, but this is not the main objective of this tourist practice.
Marketing and Religious Tourism
My presentation at the conference will focus on how to promote religious tourism resources (material and immaterial) as well as establishments where guests can stay overnight, through the Internet and specifically with the use of all the specific techniques of Digital Marketing. In fact, the entire afternoon of the second day of the conference will be dedicated to Digital Marketing for Religious Tourism and will feature the presence of renowned speakers such as the esteemed José Antonio Donaire and Núria Galí (whom I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, but I hope to remedy this during the conference).
For my part, the objective of my participation will be to train, as much as possible in the time I have assigned at the congress, in Digital Marketing for Religious Tourism to those responsible for promoting the websites of Monasteries, Sanctuaries, Retreat Houses and establishments specialising in pilgrims.
The target audience to be reached with the messages is broad (there are about 2 billion Christians in the world), hence from the point of view of a marketing professional, it is believed that a good job of segmentation and creation of a specific product can be done for each segment, with unique value propositions and with a promotion appropriate to each segment.
Considering that I am Catholic and that I sing in a choir specializing in sacred musicI think I will be able to bring together worlds that, at first glance, seem opposed, but which in reality can be perfectly reconciled.
If you wish to attend the conference, you will find more information in this PDF: IV day Tourism program
Or here:
http://www.montserratvisita.com/ca/actualitat/86
Abadia de Montserrat Foundation, 2025
08199 Montserrat
Tel.: 93 877 77 25
fundacio2025@abadiamontserrat.net
Registration closes on February 25th.
Since the sessions are university-based, attendance at them provides 1 ECTS credit of free choice at the organizing universities. If this is your case, please let us know when you register so that the necessary documentation can be prepared to validate the credit.
See you in Montserrat on March 4th and 5th.
A hug.
