Host Communities and Pilgrimage Tourism: Asia and Beyond

Description

This book delves into topics on pilgrimage travel and communities from a variety of perspectives through academic research based on the Middle East, Northeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Europe, where sacred sites have become of great importance for both international and domestic tourism. In particular, Europe and Asia possess a high volume of world-renowned pilgrimage sites that are currently being developed as tourism destinations in their respective countries, such as Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Lourdes (France), and Koyasan (Japan). This book includes studies on these two continents that harbor both a great history of pilgrimage tradition, as well as tourism development related to religious travel. The book importantly covers the role of the community in religious tourism, as well as the impact on the locals, which is comparatively an unexplored area. Whilst pilgrimage is seen as an effective tool to revitalize local economies, this book also reveals the different challenges to achieving this goal. Realizing the importance of the interrelationship of community and pilgrimage travel, as well as the lack of studies on it, this book seeks to address this research gap through 14 chapters divided into two parts, ‘Communities and Constestation’ and ‘Pilgrimage Shaping Communities’. To ensure diverse perspectives, case studies from different Eurasian countries, written by authors with expertise in the study of pilgrimage and religious travel, are included. Readers can expect to gain new perspectives by having a deeper comprehension of the ‘community side‘ of pilgrimage travel in Eurasia, and thus an integral understanding of contemporary pilgrimage Contents Editors and Contributors About the Editors About the Contributors Contributors Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: Introduction to Host Communities and Pilgrimage Tourism: Asia and Beyond 1.1 Pilgrimage Tourism 1.2 Pilgrimage and Communities 1.3 About This Volume References Part II: Communities and Contestation Chapter 2: Sacred Spaces and the ‘Other’: Social Distance, Functional Distance, and Two Pilgrimage Sites in Asia 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Symbolic Distances and Religious Mobilities 2.2.1 Social Distance 2.2.2 Borders, Functional Distance, and Perceived Distance 2.3 Asian Examples 2.3.1 The Birthplace of Buddha: Lumbini, Nepal 2.3.2 The Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan-India 2.4 Discussion and Conclusion References Chapter 3: Development of Tourism Governance for Religious Tourism: A New Form of Local Community in Najaf, Iraq 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Najaf, the Homeland of Shi’ite Islam 3.3 The Development of Religious Tourism in Najaf 3.4 Development of New Form of Locality in the Old City of Najaf 3.5 Tourism Governance for Religious Tourism in Najaf 3.6 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Tourism Visitors, Pilgrimage and Contested Spaces: Community, Heritage, Ecology and Perception 4.1 Introduction and Overview 4.1.1 Pagan Spaces in the Tourism Arena 4.1.2 Pagan Sacred Sites in a Secular World 4.2 Methods 4.3 Who Are the Modern-Day Pagans? Modern Paganism or Neo-Paganism 4.3.1 Paganism Today in Relation to Tourism and Sacred Places 4.3.2 Tourism and Pagan Sacred Spaces 4.3.3 Sacred Sites and Protected Landscapes 4.3.4 Whose Space Is Sacred? 4.3.5 Pagan Sacred Sites and Tourism 4.4 National Parks as Contested Spaces 4.4.1 A National Park Case-Study 4.4.2 Recognition, Perception, ‘Ownership’, and Resolution of Issues 4.4.3 Resolution of Problems 4.5 Conclusions 4.5.1 Lessons from the Peak District National Park Study 4.5.2 Key Findings and Their Transferability References Chapter 5: Monastic Hosts’ Sentiments Toward Hosting Buddhist Associations’ Group Pilgrims: The Case of Pu-Tuo 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Research Background: Group Pilgrims at Pu-Tuo-Shan 5.2.1 Pu-Tuo-Shan 5.2.2 Tourism Development of Pu-Tuo 5.2.3 Group Pilgrimage Experience 5.3 Methodology 5.4 Findings 5.5 Conclusion References Part III: Pilgrimage Shaping Communities Chapter 6: Pilgrimage Tourism to Sacred Places of High Himalaya and Its Impact on Residents across Generations. The Case of Yamunotri Temple 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Study Area: Yamunotri Valley 6.2.1 Natural Environment, Man and Heritage 6.2.2 Tourism in Yamunotri Valley 6.3 Methods 6.4 Results and Discussion 6.4.1 Sample Description: A Brief Characteristic and Limitation of Data 6.4.2 Pilgrimage Tourism to Yamunotri Temple and Its Impact on Residents Across Two Generations 6.5 Conclusion and Future Research References Chapter 7: Impacts of Processional Pilgrimage on Host Communities: Insights from the Palkhi Pilgrimage in India 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Palkhi: The Procession, Route, and Places 7.3 The Host Communities 7.3.1 Pune 7.3.2 Saswad 7.3.3 Walha (Walhe) Village 7.4 Addressing the Impacts of Palkhi 7.5 Discussion: Linear Route and Tangential Impacts 7.5.1 The Impacts of Palkhi on Its Route 7.5.2 Differences in Impacts Across Settlements 7.5.3 Conceptualizing Palkhi as a Linear Pilgrimage with Tangential Impacts 7.6 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Pilgrimage Tourism in Palestine: The Backbone of the Palestinian Economy 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Literature Review 8.3 Palestine 8.3.1 Christian Pilgrimage to Palestine 8.4 Methodology 8.5 Findings 8.5.1 Socio-cultural and Economics Impacts of Pilgrimage 8.5.2 Recent Developments 8.5.3 The Political Implications for Tourism 8.6 Conclusions and Implications References Chapter 9: Pilgrimage Tourism, Accessibility and Local Communities in Western Countries. The Camino de Santiago de Compostela and the via Francigena for All 9.1 Introduction 9.2 European Union Strategies and Measures for Increasing Accessible Tourism and Pilgrimage/Cultural Routes 9.3 European Projects for Tourist Accessibility and the Role of Local Communities 9.4 The Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the via Francigena in Italy: Governance and Bottom-Up Experiences 9.4.1 Preconditions and Prospects for the Development of Accessible European Cultural Itineraries 9.4.1.1 “Santiago per tutti” (Santiago for All) 9.4.1.2 Via Francigena per tutti (Via Francigena for All) 9.5 Conclusions and Suggestions References Chapter 10: Hindu Pilgrimages (India) and Religious Functionaries 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Hindu Pilgrimages: Context and Continuity 10.3 Variety and Types of Religious Functionaries 10.3.1 Pandas (‘Pilgrim Guides and Fixers’) 10.3.2 Ghatiya (‘Panda at the Sacred Water Site’) 10.3.3 Pilgrimage (Tirtha-Yatra) Operators 10.4 A Study of the Kashi Pradakshina Darshan Yatra Samiti (KPDYS) 10.5 Contemporary Scenario 10.6 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 11: The Network of the Way of St. James in Poland – Genesis, Development As Well as Religious, Cultural and Socio-Economic Impact 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Materials & Methods 11.3 Results 11.4 Conclusions References Chapter 12: Sacred Architecture as a Resource for the Development of Religious Tourism in the Regions of Ukraine 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Methodology 12.3 Research Background and Context 12.4 Findings 12.4.1 Historical and Geographical Aspects of Pilgrimage 12.4.2 Structure of Religious Organizations of Ukraine and Regional Development of Pilgrimage 12.5 Conclusions 12.5.1 Perspectives for the Development of Pilgrimage 12.5.2 Proposed Measures to Support Pilgrimage References Chapter 13: Pilgrimage, Means of Transportation and Its Effects on Host Communities 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Research Background, Context and Methodology 13.2.1 Mobile Pilgrims, Routes, and Communities 13.2.2 Context and Methods 13.3 Social Change, Host Communities and Pilgrimage Mode of Mobility 13.3.1 Walking Pilgrimage 13.3.2 Railway and Walking Pilgrimage 13.3.3 Driving Pilgrimage 13.3.4 Revival of Walking Pilgrimage 13.4 Conclusions References Part IV: Conclusion Chapter 14: Pilgrimage Tourism Afterword: Emergent Themes and Implications 14.1 Roundup 14.2 Emergent Themes 14.3 Implications References