From Pilgrimage to Cultural-Religious Tourism. The case of Zakynthos island

Abstract

Nowadays, it has been recognized, the social and economic importance of religious tourism as an important part of the tourism market. It is estimated that a large number of tourists who travel to places of religious, cultural and historical importance, they often participate in various cultural-religious events and festivals. The island of Zakynthos is in Greece and belongs to the Ionian Islands. The island is known as an important pilgrimage to its Patron Saint Dionysios, celebrated on December 17th and August 24th, each year. Furthermore, the island has many important religious monuments (churches, monasteries, temples, etc.) and places of natural beauty (sandy beaches, cliffs, a marine national park etc). In order to research the possibility of developing religious tourism on the island, a survey was carried out, in 2014, during the period from October 20th 2013 to January 22nd. According to results, there are possibilities for future development of religious-cultural tourism in combination with the development of other special and alternative forms of tourism on the island. The results indicated that visitors do not come to the island only for the pilgrimage but they are interested for the cultural resources and the natural environment of the island. Also, it has been identified not only the lack of systematic and comprehensive recording of existing natural and cultural resources and the dissemination of incomplete information of the visitors, but also the lack of targeted tourism policy. Further research is proposed in order to record and evaluate all the island resources. The research is also needed, in order to identify visitors’ needs and motives