Abstract

People’s interest in religion and spirituality seems to have awakened from the horrible events of 9–11. The subsequent wars, known as wars on terror, and various global crises have further motivated others to join religious organizations or otherwise enrich their spiritual lives by visiting sacred sites and locales. These journeys of spiritual development increased the recognition of religious and spiritual tourism by academic researchers (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor 2014; Norman 2014; Olsen 2013; Timothy & Olsen 2018). Intellectuals from diverse backgrounds have meditated, studied, and delivered on spiritually motivated travel for centuries, although it seems to have entered the commercial travel glossary more recently (Andriotis 2009; Haq & Medhekar 2019; Mitroff & Denton 1999). Beyond its expansive research coverage in the social sciences, spirituality and religiosity have recently become an increasingly important research subject in business studies and travel industry management (Coats 2008; Cochrane 2009; Norman 2014; Olsen 2013; Pesut 2003). Although an important part of business management studies, marketing has received considerably less research attention in the spiritual and religious tourism arena (Eid 2012; Štefko, Kiráľová & Mudrík 2015).