A REVIEW OF SPIRITUAL TOURISM: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Mutia Sobihah Abdul Halim (), Ekrem Tatoglu () and Shamsiah Banu Mohamad Hanefar ()
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Mutia Sobihah Abdul Halim: University of Sultan Zainal Abidin Department of Science Management and Economic Kampung Gong Badak, 21300 Terengganu, Malaysia
Ekrem Tatoglu: Ibn Haldun University Academic Affair Kayabaºi, Ulubatli Hasan Caddesi, No.2, 34494, Baºakºehir, Istanbul, Turkey
Shamsiah Banu Mohamad Hanefar: University of Nottingham Malaysia Centre for Academic Partnerships and Engagement Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia

Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2021, vol. 27, issue 1, 119-141

Abstract: Purpose – The growth of non-materialistic impulses among people around the world has led to the emergence of a special category of tourism that can be termed ‘spiritual tourism’. This article presents an attempt to provide a conceptual model for spiritual tourism drawing from the literature on spirituality, religion, and tourism. Design/ Approach – As this study intends to build a bridge between spirituality and tourism, the authors reviewed various articles and adopted the Spiritual Intelligence Model devised by Hanefar, Sa’ari, and Siraj (2016) to build a conceptual model of spiritual tourism. Methodology – Content analysis was used to arrange more than forty dimensions of spiritual tourism from the chosen articles. These dimensions were coded and mapped against the Spiritual Intelligence Model. Findings – The emergent dimensions of spiritual tourism showed that tourism offers unique opportunities in guiding human being to gain spiritual development through religion and non-religion tourism activities/experiences. Originality of the research – The authors developed a Conceptual Model of Spiritual Tourism with seven themes: Meaning/Purpose of life, Consciousness, Transcendence, Spiritual resources, Self-determination, Reflection – soul purification, and Spiritual coping (with obstacles). This model intends to serve as a systematic pathway to authors and other researchers for future research related to spiritual tourism.

Keywords: Spiritual tourism; Purpose of life; Consciousness; Transcendence; Content analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tho:journl:v:27:y:2021:n:1:p:119-141

DOI: 10.20867/thm.27.1.8

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