Transcript
Page 1: Top Ten Religious Travel Trends

on location: international � kevin j. wright

IN RECENT YEARS THE religious

tourism and hospitality marketplace

has evolved from a rather obscure

niche market into an attention-grab-

bing, $18-billion global industry. In-

deed, faith-based travel today is in the

midst of a remarkable growth spurt.

International travel by Americans

for religious purposes has doubled over

the past five years and according to a

recent study by Menlo Consulting, this

trend is expected to continue for an-

other five years. Destinations such as

Israel, Jordan and Palestine enjoyed

some of their best tourism years ever in

2008. European pilgrimage sites such

as Lourdes (France) witnessed a

record-breaking number of visitors.

Many destinations, attractions and

events in North America also experi-

enced a year of growth in faith-based

tourism.

What can we expect in 2009 for the

religious travel and hospitality market-

place? Consider the top 10 trends:

More tour operators will debut reli-

gious travel programs. In the past five

years, formal religious travel programs

have been introduced by large tour op-

erators like Trafalgar Tours,

Mayflower Tours (Faithful Holidays)

and the Globus family of brands. The

National Tour Association (NTA) has

seen its member tour operators in-

crease their religious programs; 35 per-

cent of them now offer religious tour

product. More operators will roll out

(and/or expand) religious travel pro-

grams in 2009.

More travel agencies will become

involved in selling to religious groups

and travelers. The increase in tour op-

erators offering religious programs (see

previous trend) will result in a greater

number of travel agents entering the

faith tourism marketplace because

there is more product available to sell.

Cruise lines will devote more efforts

18 February 2009 LeisureGroupTravel.com

Travelers contribute manpoweron missionary trips.

Top 10 ReligiousTravel TrendsTop 10 ReligiousTravel Trends

The president of the World ReligiousTravel Association looks at 2009,proclaimed the Year of Faith Tourism

Page 2: Top Ten Religious Travel Trends

and products towards the faith-based

market. Cruise companies are major

beneficiaries of the recent growth in re-

ligious tourism, and more faith-based

groups are choosing cruising as their

preferred choice of a “fellowship vaca-

tion.” Companies such as Princess

Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Monarch

Classic Cruises and Steps of Paul

Coastal Cruises have recently debuted

or expanded ports of call in the Holy

Land.

Missionary travel and volunteer va-

cations will continue to surge in popu-

larity. The number of people taking a

“vacation with a purpose” has doubled

in the past five years to two million

Americans. One of the major drivers of

this marketplace in the coming years

will be travel agents. Although agents

have traditionally steered clear of sell-

ing this type of vacation, more of them

will begin offering missionary travel

and volunteer vacations due to in-

creased assistance from wholesalers

such as MTS Travel, Raptim Travel

and Lifetree Adventures.

Tourist offices/boards and conven-

tion and visitors bureaus will devote

more resources and personnel towards

developing the faith-based travel mar-

ket. As religious group travel and

events continue to develop into a vital

source of new revenues and visitors,

we’ll see a growing trend of destination

management organizations hiring a

specific person or setting up a depart-

ment to oversee the religious market.

One model is the Bahamas Ministry of

Tourism, which has a dedicated direc-

tor of religious travel in Linville John-

son. A second trend will include CVBs

and regional tourist offices devoting

more resources towards attracting and

developing not only the religious con-

ventions and meetings market but the

fast-growing leisure group travel mar-

ket as well.

Monasteries and retreat guesthouses

will welcome an increase in visitors. As

2009 will be a year most likely filled

with uncertainty and increased anxiety

across the world, many people will be

searching for a place that provides sol-

ace and serenity. As a result, monaster-

ies and retreat guesthouses are gearing

up for a possible record-setting number

of visitors; about 2.5 million North

Americans embark on a retreat each

year. To meet the growing demand,

more publications are coming out on

places of solitude and inspiration. This

includes my guidebook, Europe’s

Monastery & Convent Guesthouses:

A Pilgrim’s Travel Guide (Liguori

Publications).

Religious tour operators will ex-

pand their product offerings into

leisure travel. Many leading religious

tour operators in North America have

developed stellar reputations for their

expertise in pilgrimage travel; these in-

clude companies such as 206 Tours,

Group IST (Journeys Unlimited and

Regina Tours) and Unitours. In 2009

and beyond, we’ll see religious tour op-

erators expanding their leisure product

offerings, from cruising and local get-

aways to faith-based attraction visits,

African safaris and volunteer vaca-

tions. In summary, we’ll see more reli-

gious tour operators debut leisure

travel programs – and we’ll see more

of them cross-sell their various reli-

gious and leisure travel products.

Attractions will further customize

their products, services and sales/mar-

keting efforts to the religious market.

Museums, amusement parks and the-

aters already welcome religious groups.

However, many such attractions take

the market for granted and do little to

further draw people of faith. As the

potential of the religious marketplace

LeisureGroupTravel.com February 2009 19

Cruise lines will devote more efforts and productstowards the faith-based market.

Page 3: Top Ten Religious Travel Trends

becomes more apparent, we’ll begin to

see a change in how attractions cater

to faith-based groups.

Religious groups will continue to

gather – no matter what the year

ahead brings. If there is one tradition

that cuts across all religions, it is this:

people of faith like to gather. To look

at it another way, “community” lies at

the very core of many faiths and reli-

gions. For this reason, it comes as no

surprise that the religious market rep-

resents about 16 percent of the meet-

ings industry and is estimated to be

twice the size of the business meetings

market. According to the Religious

Conference Management Association

(RCMA), the religious meetings mar-

ket has grown from 4.4 million atten-

dees in 1994 to an estimated 15

million attendees today.

Churches and faith-based organiza-

tions will launch travel programs in

ever-increasing numbers. Approxi-

mately 50,000 of the 400,000 churches

and religious organizations in America

possess some kind of travel program.

One of the hottest trends in faith com-

munities is the hosting of a travel pro-

gram (also known as “travel

ministry”). There is much greater

awareness in religious circles about the

benefits of combining faith, fun and

fellowship through travel. This aware-

ness is being driven by expanded media

coverage on the topic, growth of reli-

gious travel guidebooks, and the in-

crease in travel companies marketing

and selling directly to churches and

faith-based organizations. LGT

20 February 2009 LeisureGroupTravel.com

international �

The Pyramids at Giza

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OBERAMMERGAU PACKAGES

Virgin Vacations offers the following

Europe itineraries that package the

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Highlights of Germany with Ober-

ammergau a nine-day program that vis-

its Munich, Oberammergau, the Black

Forest, Frankfurt and includes a Rhine

River cruise; priced from $2,979.

Northern Italy, Switzerland and

Oberammergau a 10-day program that

includes Milan, Lake Maggiore,

Switzerland, the Black Forest and

Wurzburg; from $3,469. [888-937-

8474, virginvacations.com]

TRAFALGAR LAUNCHES

NEW RELIGIOUS SERIES

Trafalgar’s 2009 Journeys of Faith and

Spirituality brochure details five new

itineraries visiting the most inspirational

and holy sites in Israel, Italy, Greece,

Turkey, France, Spain and Poland. The

lineup includes:

Missionary Journey of Paul 11 days

from $2,020, visiting Athens, Mykonos,

Rhodes, Kusadasi, Thessaloniki and

Meteora; departures May-September.

Land of the Bible 9 days from

$1,975, visiting Tel Aviv, Caesarea,

Haifa, Acre, Tiberias, Capernaum, Kib-

butz Nof Ginosar, Kursi, Jordan Park,

Nazareth, Jericho and Jerusalem; depar-

tures May-October.

Poland and Pope John Paul II 8 days

from $1,225, visiting Krakow, Wadow-

ice, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska,

Auschwitz, Czestochowa and Warsaw;

departures May-November.

Catholic Portugal, Spain &

France 12 days from $2,225, visiting

Lisbon, Santarem, Fatima, Santiago de

Compostela, Burgos, Lourdes and Paris;

departures June-October.

A Journey through Christian Italy 10

days from $1,995, visiting Rome, Assisi,

Siena, Florence, Padua and Venice; de-

partures June-October.

All prices listed are land-only, per

person, based on double-room occu-

pancy.

Sightseeing highlights include visits

to the birthplace of Jesus and the Basil-

ica of the Annunciation in Nazareth; the

Church of the Nativity, Wailing Wall

and Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem;

Auschwitz in Poland; the Basilica and

Grotto in Lourdes; the Vatican; and the

14th century monasteries perched high

atop towering rocks in Meteora, Greece.

[866-544-4434, trafalgartours.com]

FAITH TRAVEL INSURANCE PLAN

Travel Guard has launched a new travel

insurance offering – the Faith Travel

Plan – developed to appeal to the grow-

ing religious travel market. The plan is a

22 February 2009 LeisureGroupTravel.com

Munich will be included on many 2010 Oberammergau itineraries.

EEEEEURURURURUROPEOPEOPEOPEOPE G GGGGRRRRROUPOUPOUPOUPOUP SSSSSALESALESALESALESALES TTTTTIPIPIPIPIP #9 #9 #9 #9 #9

TIP # 9 - Publish Your Tours

Write articles (including pictures), detailing your mostrecent trips, and send them in to local newspapers, maga-zines and trade publications of regions where yourtravelers reside. This is a low-cost way to promote yourservices and provide testimonials to future clients.

For Europe group information, call (800) 964-3170

on our radar: international �

Page 6: Top Ten Religious Travel Trends

novel approach to meeting the travel in-

surance needs of travelers embarking on

mission trips, pilgrimages, volunteer va-

cations, conferences and retreats. In addi-

tion to enhanced coverage options, the

Faith Travel Plan features specialized

concierge services to help customers who

may feel “out of their element” traveling

to religious destinations around the

world.

The plan includes:

*Trip cancellation coverage up to

$100,000 – High coverage limit if over-

seas travel must be canceled for reasons

such as sickness of religious pilgrimage

traveling companion or financial default

of mission tour operator.

*Children under age 17 at no addi-

tional charge

*Medical evacuation – Medical cover-

age (whether traveling in religious

groups, individuals or families) that in-

cludes evacuation and transportation to

the hospital of choice or home in the

event of an unforeseen incident.

*Cancel for any reason – The Faith

Travel Plan reimburses up to 50 percent

of the trip cost if the insured cancels a

covered trip for any reason, up to 48

hours prior to departure.

*Cruise, airline, and

tour operator default

coverage

Included in the plan is

a Faith Traveler’s 24-

hour hotline with spe-

cialized concierge

services giving religious

travelers convenient ac-

cess to worldwide reli-

gious destination

information, urgent mes-

sage relay to friends and

worship leaders, and pre-

trip health and safety ad-

visories. Emergency

assistance services offer

an around-the-clock

travel hotline for finding

alternative flight options,

rebooking flights, replac-

ing lost travel docu-

ments, and making hotel

and rental car reserva-

tions. [800-826-1300,

travelguard.com]

TEL AVIV CELEBRATES

Tel Aviv is marking its 100th

anniversary with year-long celebrations

that kick off April 4 with a massive con-

cert in Rabin Square, complete with

multi-media experiences and perform-

ances by international stars, the New Is-

raeli Opera and Israel Philharmonic

Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Founded in 1909 on sand dunes as a

garden suburb of ancient Jaffa, Tel Aviv

quickly burgeoned into a metropolis,

styling itself as "the first Hebrew city in

two millennia." By the 1930s, architects

escaping the Nazis were creating the

wealth of Bauhaus buildings that gave

Tel Aviv its unique look and caused the

"White City" to be designated a UN-

ESCO World Heritage Site. By the turn

A classical concert at Tel Aviv's Mann Auditorium: theIsrael Philharmonic, solo singers and a visiting choir.

LeisureGroupTravel.com February 2009 23

Page 7: Top Ten Religious Travel Trends

of the 21st century the city had become

home to dozens of world-class restau-

rants, a fashion scene that combines

Milan, Tokyo and New York, and a

wealth of cultural institutions.

"If Jerusalem is our Washington,

D.C.," said Arie Sommer, Israel tourism

commissioner for North and South

America, "then Tel Aviv is our New

York, the center of business, entertain-

ment and all the excitement associated

with a big city that is also a beach re-

sort on the Mediterranean."

Plans to revitalize the Shlomo Lahat

Promenade, the long boardwalk stretch-

ing along the Mediterranean shoreline,

have been announced. The estimated

$75-million project will expand the

promenade to 8½ miles all the way

along the coast from Bat Yam through

Jaffa and Tel Aviv to Herzliya. Upon

completion, the walkway will connect

several of the city's parks and boast

new restaurants and

shops. [goisrael.com]

HIKES IN THE HOLY LAND

Israel has inaugurated the new Pil-

grim's Route, a trail enabling travelers

to hike to its Christian holy places.

Along the route leading from

Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, tourists

can visit the site that recalls the New

Testament parable of the Good

Samaritan, the Qumran caves and the

point in the Jordan River believed to

be where Jesus was baptized by John

the Baptist.

The Good Samaritan site, located

just off the highway leading from

Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, is home to

a Byzantine church built about 1,700

years ago. The mosaic floor of the

church was recently reconstructed by

archaeologists. In addition, the bap-

tismal site, located near Jericho, is

considered the third most important

site for Christian pilgrims to the Holy

Land and holds significance in the

Jewish tradition as the place where

the Children of Israel crossed the Jor-

dan River when they entered Canaan.

[goisrael.com]

ANOTHER SIDE OF ORLANDO

Christian groups in Orlando, Fla., will

find 4,500 square feet of hands-on ex-

hibits, interactive media, games and

video presentations at Wycliffe Dis-

covery Center (formerly WordSspring

Discovery Center) on the campus of

Wycliffe Bible Translators USA. Ex-

hibits and videos focusing on the his-

tory of the Bible, world cultures and

languages, and ongoing work of Bible

translations are designed for both

children and adults. A cafe is open for

lunch, and there is a gift shop. Tours

of Wycliffe headquarters are available.

[407-852-3626, wycliffe.org/

wordspring]

Qumran: The community buildings, where theDead Sea Scrolls were written.

international �

24 February 2009 LeisureGroupTravel.com

Page 8: Top Ten Religious Travel Trends

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