Pilgrimage tourism is one of the key subjects for driving the tourist footfall in pilgrim sites and is more of a destination-oriented theme. However, there are several elements that pose serious challenges to this phenomenon. Hence, there is an urgent need for undertaking a study to comprehend and examine the challenges of pilgrimage tourism and to offer suggestions to neutralize the challenges and issues associated with it. The current study was undertaken with two objectives: firstly, to identify the challenges of pilgrimage tourism in Kamakhya Temple – a pilgrim centre in Assam; and secondly, to present feasible suggestions to overcome the challenges of pilgrimage tourism in Kamakhya Temple in Assam. To fulfil the objectives, the study adopted secondary data for analysis along with anecdotal evidence to derive key insights about the objectives. Moreover, an extensive literature review was done by analyzing the journal articles and various published reports within the reach of the researcher.
Top1. Introduction
Pilgrimage tourism is one of the key subjects for driving the tourist footfall in pilgrim sites and it is more of a destination-oriented theme. This form of tourism is considered to be the earliest perception or distinct art of traveling for gaining spiritual insight and devotion (Kunwar & Ghimire, 2012; Collins-Kreiner, 2020) and a key forerunner of today’s tourism (Di Giovine & Elsner, 2016). The phenomenon is presently going through a phase of resurgence across the world, as surviving sacred places still has magnetism to attract those who often are in search of spiritual fulfillment (Digance, 2003). According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), approximately 330 million people venture out on religious or religious and cognitive tours every year and they visit major pilgrimage destinations worldwide (Griffin & Raj 2017; Mroz, F, 2021), generating over US$ 3.5 trillion worldwide every year (UNCTAD, 2020).
The phenomenon of pilgrimage tourism stands mainly for a journey emanating from religious beliefs, externally to a sacred place, and internally for spiritual intentions or recognitions or leisure purposes (Kunwar & Thapaliya, 2021). The first and foremost ground for the spiritual travel is the religious beliefs that essentially call for a visit to holy places by their followers and help to facilitate religious events and festivals (Kunwar, 2017). The world’s greatest form of mass pilgrimage tourism occurs at the Kumbh Mela, which is held every 12 years at Haridwar, Uttaranchal, and Prayag, Allahabad in India, yearly Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Pathak, 2012) the Centre of the Roman Catholic Church, Israel, etc. (Nhamo et al., 2020).
It has been well realized that the tourism industry in India and especially Assam has been witnessing a significant growth over the last few years. Assam has plenty to offer to the tourists ranging from natural attractions to pilgrimage sites. However, the attractions must be managed and mobilized optimally in order to develop tourism industry. The number of studies assessing the significance of pilgrimage tourism in Assam, the extent of this market, powerful market players and the market’s role in boosting places for religious and pilgrimage tourism in Assam are found to be highly scarce. Based on the trends of pilgrimage tourism in previous years (except 2020 and 2021 on account of COVID-19 pandemic), it can very well be projected that the sector would maintain its growth for the foreseeable future and that the share of pilgrimage tourism in the state economy of Assam would remain consequential. Thus, pilgrimage tourism is regarded as one of the dominating underutilized marketplaces for the travel industry in Assam. However, there are several elements that pose serious challenges to this phenomenon. Hence, there is an urgent need for undertaking a study to comprehend and examine the challenges of pilgrimage tourism and to offer suggestions to neutralize the challenges and issues associated with it. Based on such a context, the current study attempted to examine the challenges associated with the pilgrimage tourism in one of the most revered pilgrim centres in Assam and also to develop viable solutions to invalidate them, which would go a long way in benefiting the pilgrimage tourism segment in India and Assam in particular.