Fifth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

A new look at the phenomenon of religious tourism emphasizing its complex character and its wide influence was proposed in the early 1990s. Next, Collins-Kreiner (2010) drew attention to the blurring of boundaries between tourism-pilgrimage and tourist-pilgrim. The paper presents firstly: the visitors’ motivations and experiences at the 12 largest pilgrimage centers in Poland. Here, the relation and correlation between these elements are emphasized for the first time. The most important motivations for visits were religious and tourist ones. They visited religious, cultural and tourist buildings and facilities. Nowadays, visitors’ motivations and behavior at pilgrimage centers include those typical for pilgrims and tourists in the traditional meaning. Secondly, here, the similar changes (from dedifferentiation approach) in the spatial organization of pilgrimage centers in Europe are presented. Particular attention was paid to their development from the time of foundation to the present state in the organizational, spatial and functional aspects. The most intensive development has been taking place since the 1970s till today. Changes tend to differentiate objects (in terms of their number and function). Along with the changing travel conditions, the standard of visitor service is changing too, resulting in a more extensive and varied spatial organization. Increasingly, the religious function is extended by others, which may be used by visitors with diverse motives. The models are a summary of the paper: spatial organization and 4-stage model of its development. The changes in visitors’ motivations and pilgrimage centers are part of the dedifferentiation approach in the post-modern research.