Analysing competitiveness of eligious tourism destinations

Abstract

In India, Religious tourism is an essential part of the lives of most of the country's population. It contributes to a sizeable portion of all kinds of tourism in the country. Tourism is an important activity that contributes to the economy and well-being. Religious tourism serves as an essential component of the tourism activity that is gaining traction among researchers and policymakers around the globe. The PRASHAD scheme launched for the betterment of religious destinations in India calls for the competitiveness of these destinations, making it essential to assess them for their potential and weaknesses. This research aims to find ways to assess the religious tourism destination competitiveness. The cities of Ujjain and Omkareshwar are known for the presence of jyotirlingas in them and have been selected for this study. Although the two sites may not be directly comparable on an urban scale, as Ujjain also serves as the district headquarter, whereas Omkareshwar is still a small city in the Khandwa district, they are comparable as religious tourism destinations. The study also highlights the difference between religious and pilgrim tourism as understood from literature to clarify confusion arising from the topic. It does not indulge in exploring competition in religious beliefs or their religious significance or importance but is focused on exploring the competitiveness of these destinations as religious tourism destinations. The study utilises the World Economic Forum's destination competitiveness model with slight modifications and the introduction of weights to the selected factors. This model was selected as this solves the problem of combining the qualitative and quantitative scores of indicators faced with other destination competitiveness models, such as “The Dwyer and Kim Model” and “The Crouch and Ritchie Model” of destination competitiveness. The research relied on a comprehensive literature review to determine the factors and indicators affecting religious tourism destinations' competitiveness. Furthermore, the “Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory” (DEMATEL) iv decision-making model was used for ranking and correlating these factors to determine their effect on the competitiveness of these destinations. The study found that the most influencing factors were government expenditure, capital investment in travel and tourism, tourist service infrastructure, and the intangible culture associated with the place. The study analyses the study sites in these factors to identify the limitations hampering the competitiveness of these destinations and proposes strategies for addressing them. The suggested strategies aim to enhance the competitiveness of the selected religious tourism destinations, offering valuable insights for stakeholders and policymakers in the tourism industry.