In recent years the religious tourism and hospitality marketplace has evolved from a rather obscure niche market into an attention-grabbing, $18-billion global industry. Indeed,
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 another 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 experienced a year of growth in faith-based tourism. What can we expect in 2009 for the religious travel and hospitality marketplace? Consider the top 10 trends:
More tour operators will debut religious travel programs. In the past five years, formal religious travel programs have been introduced by large tour operators like Trafalgar Tours, Mayflower Tours (Faithful Holidays) and the Globus family of brands. The National Tour Association (NTA) has seen its member tour operators increase their religious programs; 35 percent of them now offer religious tour product. More operators will roll out (and/or expand) religious travel programs in 2009.
By Keven J. Wright
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Courtesy of leisuregrouptravel.com
