Introduction

As noted elsewhere in this book, the original precept of Christian pilgrimage entailed humbling oneself as part of a sanctification process. In this regard, as Chapter 7 later notes, the lived encounters (with deity, self, other pilgrims or nature) on the pilgrim trail were essentially as important, if not more so, than reaching the destination itself owing to the process of self-consecration attributed to the hardships associated with walking the route (Turner, 1973; Whalen, 2011).

An important principle reflected in the pilgrimages of Christians, and those of some other faiths as well, is the notion of solidarity and equality. The impartiality with which God treats his children played out in the communitas that evolved through pilgrimage experiences, that everyone was equal in the eyes of deity. With the melding of these two conceptions – equality and the sanctification of self through pilgrimage – religiously motivated travel was generally self-disciplined and austere. Pilgrims spent as little money as possible and were fixed on reaching their destination in order to purify themselves, purge iniquity from their lives and demonstrate devotion to deity.

Until relatively recently, pilgrimage travel was so spartan that it was ignored as a potential source of economic development by pilgrimage destinations. Little thought was given to serving the needs of pilgrims beyond inexpensive or free hostels, non-motorized transportation, a few memento vendors and small-scale food providers. During the past century, however, the tides have turned. Sacred destinations now realize the increasing pecuniary potential of religious tourism to create jobs, raise tax revenues, increase regional incomes and encourage outside investment in tourism and hospitality services (Collins-Kreiner et al. , 2006; Shackley, 2006a; Vijayanand, 2013). Religious tourism is also now seen more commonly as a way of diversifying or resuscitating struggling economies (Olsen, 2003), and religious tourism and pilgrimage are seen as big business in many popular destinations (Collins-Kreiner, 2010b; Rotherham, 2007).