Kiran A. Shinde – författare

Most of South Asia’s tourism is based upon the region’s pervasive religious heritage. This book provides a descriptive and conceptual examination of religious heritage in South Asia and how this tangible and intangible heritage is utilized as one of the region’s most significant tourism assets.The book covers the living and built cultural heritage of South Asia’s main religions, both those that originated in the region and those introduced from outside. In particular, it focuses on the cultural past and present of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Christianity, as well as other spiritualities and faith traditions that combine to create a unique and engaging religious heritagescape, which is a crucial part of the tourism product in all seven countries of the region. Pilgrimage mobilities, religious tourism, spiritual architecture and built environments, tantric practices, marketing and management principles and challenges, heritage development, market demand, conservation, death and dying, sacred geographies, and many other principles form the core of the book.This collection of essays and cases aims to provide native perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of religious tourism in South Asia. As such, it appeals to researchers and upper-level students of tourism, geography, religious and heritage studies, anthropology, and South Asian studies.

The remarkable growth in religious tourism across the world has generated considerable interest in the impacts of this type of tourism. Focusing here on environmental issues, this book moves beyond the documentation of environmental impacts to examine in greater depth the intersections between religious tourism and the environment. Beginning with an in-depth introduction that highlights the intersections between religion, tourism, and the environment, the book then focuses on the environment as a resource or generator for religious tourism and as a recipient of the impacts of religious tourism. Chapters included discuss such important areas as theological views, environmental responsibility, and host perspectives. Covering as many cultural and environmental regions as possible, this book provides: -An in-depth yet holistic view of the relationships between religious tourism and the environment; -A conceptual framework that goes beyond listing potential environment impacts; -A strong focus on explaining the universality of the deeper environmental issues surrounding sacredness and sacred places; -A discussion of the role of disease and health-related issues at mass religious gatherings. From a global writing team and featuring case studies spanning Europe and Asia, this book will be of great interest to researchers and students of tourism and religious studies, as well as those studying environmental issues.