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THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS AND PILGRIMAGE TOURISM IN DEVELOPING AND PROMOTING THE URBAN TOURISM IN
BUCHAREST
Elena BOGAN
lecturer PhD., University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania, elena.bogan@yahoo.com
Andreea-Loreta CERCLEUX
associate professor PhD, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania, loreta.cercleux@geo.unibuc.ro
Dana Maria (Oprea) CONSTANTIN
lecturer PhD, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania, danamartines@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Religion is an important element of culture, that is why its influences are felt in the social attitudes, travel motivations, and
people's behavior. Bucharest is a city that can become a point of attraction at the level of the European continent and the
religious and pilgrimage tourism could contribute in the future to the growth of the tourist number as well as to the economic
growth. As a result, it is necessary to be aware of the expectations of the religious tourism consumers in order to meet the
expectations of the visitors. A basic factor in the development of this tourism phenomenon is also the existence of a rich and
diversified religious tourism potential.
The purpose of this research is both to analyze the general characteristics of the religious and pilgrimage tourism consumer, as
well as some special characteristics related to the intensity of the visits made in the places of worship, and the motivations to
visit. This study aims to analyze the perception degree of the consumers about the religious and pilgrimage tourism, the degree
of knowledge of the religious sights in Bucharest, the possibility to develop and exploit this type of tourism and to analyze the
potential of creating a future tourist tour in Bucharest that will focus on promoting the important religious sites in the capital, both
from a cultural and historical point of view, as well as from a religious and spiritual point of view.
KEYWORDS
religious tourism, pilgrimage, spirituality, tourist motivation, Bucharest
INTRODUCTION
The religious tourism is one of the oldest types of tourism and it often involves people travelling from a sense of duty than those
traveling for pleasure and leisure (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2005). The religious sites, such as cathedrals, temples and mosques
attract a growing number of visitors worldwide not only for their spiritual value, but for recreation, education and culture (N.
Kreiner, Shmueli D. and Gal M., 2015). The religious spaces have become ones of the most popular destinations in the world,
not only for believers, but also for other tourists. For the believers, these places can evoke strong feelings, while for the non-
religious tourists, such places can satisfy some curiosity. Religion is an important part of the culture, closely related with many
elements of people's lives (Poria, Butler and Airey, 2003).
Comparing to the pilgrim, the religious tourist could be motivated by the cultural knowledge, rather than just religion. The
pilgrimage often overlaps with the religious tourism because many people travel both for religious and leisure purposes. Although
the importance of religion in the Western world has diminished considerably and the number of atheists and agnostics has
multiplied, the number of tourists visiting religious sites has increased. The main reason for this may be that, in an increasingly
uncertain life, people start to look for a meaning (Richards, G. and Fernandes C., 2007). Moreover, not all the visits to a religious
site are "pious travels". One way to distinguish the pilgrims and tourists traveling for religious purposes is to observe their
behavior and motivation. The travel of a pilgrim is characterized by austerity and certain rituals (Egresi I. et al., 2012).
Many tourists visit the religious sites for spiritual reasons, and some visit them for non-religious purposes, such as historical,
cultural or architectural reasons. These tourists are quite often uninformed about the religious meaning of the site (Nolan, M.,
Nolan, S., 1992).
In the past 3 decades, the believers have changed their customs to spare money, preferring to buy tourism packages of a high
quality of the products and services. The religious tourism in the 21st century does not evolve only pilgrimages or missionary
travels, it also embraces other types of holidays, such as: pilgrimages, religious missions (missionary), religious cruises,
conferences/conventions, Christian camps, volunteer vacations, holidays for students/youth (Wright, 2007).
In Europe, the World Tourism Organization estimates a 35% percentage of population interested in the religious tourism. Thus,
statistics show that one of four trips undertaken annually, have religious or spiritual purposes.
Religion has an influence on the architecture, social life, but also has a philosophical impact. Regardless religion, the religious
tourism has gained significant value in the lives of the believers' communities, becoming a unique activity of tourism, well-sought
for combining the cultural and recreational activities with the spiritual ones.
1. STUDY AREA
The religious and pilgrimage tourism is not very popular in Bucharest, although here, thousands of faithful Romanians come from
all over the country (and not only) for the feast of St. Dimitrie Basarabov, the protector of Bucharest or for other important
celebrations. This type of tourism is relatively new and is being developed as part of the cultural tourism for this city.
The religious tourism is now part of the cultural tourism in Bucharest and is manifested in an early stage due to the lack of
promotion from the authorities and why not, of the Romanian Patriarch. There are many churches throughout the city that could
generate tourists, but the lack of promotion, automatically leads to avoid them and thus, to a poorly developed religious tourism.
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However, the central area is attractive for tourists, the most important places being the Stavropoleos Church, the Old Courtyard
Church or the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen, but even these are not promoted at their true
potential.
Bucharest and Romania, in general, have been influenced over time by various architectural styles due to its position at the
intersection of some of the greatest empires that existed in Europe (the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Austro-
Hungarian Empire etc.), which made the architecture of the churches and monasteries in Bucharest be a complex combination of
styles, from the Byzantine to the Neoclassical or the Brâncoveanu styles.
The city of Bucharest has an extremely valuable and important religious heritage, consisting of churches, monasteries and
monastic complexes dating back to the 16th century, as well as a cemetery (Şerban Vodă - Bellu cemetery), known worldwide,
where the most Romanian writers, poets and personalities have been buried, as well as places of worship with relics that bring
more and more tourists and pilgrims every year.
In Bucharest and around the city, there are about 290 places of worship (Figure 1), of which 84 are part of the List of Historic
Monuments in Romania, a list annexed to the Order of the Minister of Culture no. 2828/2015. Besides these, one can add the
monasteries and monastic ensembles, as well as other important monuments of pilgrimage and religious tourism in Bucharest
and over 55 churches were there are holy relics, objects or parts of objects that belonged to them.
(Source: The authors)
Figure 1. The evolution of the cult spaces (1500 – 2017)
The beginning of the new millennium brings an explosion of new places of worship because each religious community in
Bucharest tries to affirm and make its voice heard among the 1.9 million inhabitants of the capital. In only 17 years since the third
millennium, more than 30 churches have been built or are under construction in the Romanian capital, which is a very large
number comparing to the previous years in which about 1 to 3 - 4 churches per year were built. It can be noticed a religious over-
saturation in a city already crowded by the increasing number buildings and cars.
The cultural and religious heritage of the capital is extremely varied and large (as in the entire territory of Romania - a Christian
majority country with deep roots in Orthodoxy), where the cultural and religious tourism are practiced, as well as the cultural-
pilgrimage tourism (with a slight increase in the last decade). Pilgrimage for the feast of Saint Dimitrie Basarabov has had an
1545
-
1699
1700
-
1899
1500
-
2017
evolution of
urban space
before
after
hydrographic network
main road network
administrative limit
churches
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increasing number of participants in the recent years (in 2016, in the first two days there were more than 4,000 pilgrims - Figure
2) coming from all corners of the country, and inevitably, many inconveniences have also occurred for the majority of the
participants (the majority being aged persons) or the citizens of the capital.
(Source: http://basilica.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/pelerinajul-la-sarbatoarea-sfantului-cuvios-dimitrie.jpg)
Figure 2. Pilgrimage for the feast of Saint Dimitrie Basarabov
The strategic planning of the sacred places and events is essential for the sustainable development of the religious tourism in a
particular area, especially when considering the complexity of these places and events where religion and tourism coincide
(Ambrosio and Pereira, 2007). If the religious activities would be merged with the tourist activities and through their promotion in
various ways, they would attract a number of tourists in this area (religious tourism), and could be a beneficial method to develop
the religious tourism in Bucharest. Thus, we can state that the modern pilgrimage closely connects the tourism industry with
religion, therefore the correct management of the religious edifices, especially by creating projects for the preservation of the
architecture and the painting of the churches in Bucharest, could bring immense benefits both for the religious institutions and
the tour operators (Rinschede G., 1992).
2. METHODOLOGY
For a good understanding of the elements leading to the development of the religious and pilgrimage tourism in Bucharest, of the
motivations of both Romanian and foreign tourists, 365 questionnaires were applied between September and October 2018 in
the area of the Patriarchal Cathedral, the Stavropoleos Church, the Old Court and Church St. George the New.
The questionnaire consists of two parts, the first part consists of identification questions for a good outline of the type of tourist,
and the second part contains questions aiming to identify the travel motives and the percentage of tourists who benefit from the
travel services. The questions are formulated with a closed response in order to eliminate subjectivism, but also with open
response in order to obtain diverse results.
In order to achieve the above goal, this research pursues the following objectives: the consumer perceptions on the religious and
pilgrimage tourism, their knowledge on the religious tourism objectives in Bucharest, as well as the prospects for developing and
capitalizing this type of tourism. The questionnaire also aimed to analyze the potential of creating a future tourist tour in
Bucharest, focusing on the promotion of the important places of worship for the capital, not only from a cultural and historical
point of view, but also from a religious and spiritual point of view.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The questionnaire was applied to a sample of 365people, as it was intended to analyze the religious tourism phenomenon within
the city of Bucharest and 91 questionnaires were made for each location. The 365 persons (79% Romanians and 21%
foreigners), respectively tourists, were of both sexes, ages, social categories and different levels of education and different civil
status. Regarding the profile of the Romanian tourists and pilgrims, 62.5% are female and 37.5% are male. Most people who
responded to the questionnaire are in the age group 26-35 years old (over 31.6 %) and 46-55 years old (27.5%), they have high
school and university education, they are part of the active population and over 32 % are not married. The interviewed foreign
tourists are female, in a proportion of 55% and 45% are male. In terms of age, they were falling in the age group 26- 65 years
old, most of them had university studies and came from the urban areas.
The first question (Figure 3) refers to the significance of the monastic settlements for the interviewed tourists, taking into account
both the spiritual and the educational part. Thus, 38% represents the trips to the monastic settlements for the spiritual fulfillment,
this being due to the beliefs of the Romanian people who consider the church a "purifying space" in which they find complete
peace. The monastic settlements - 23% represent a tourist attraction for visitors, which impress mainly through architecture,
painting and then, the spiritual valences. Some of the respondents, in the proportion of 35 %, regard the church settlement as a
place of prayer, and 4% have chosen other variants, considering the religious spaces as simple prayer spaces or spaces that
satisfy certain curiosities within a journey.
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35%
23%
38%
4%
place of prayer
tourist attraction
a place w here you may find
inner peace
other opti ons
15%
60%
15%
10%
place of prayer
tourist attraction
a place w here you may find
inner peace
other options
The monastic settlements are regarded by foreign tourists as tourist attractions - 60%, being visited mainly for reasons related to
the educational, practical and less cognitive aspects. In a proportion of 15%, the respondents consider the religious space as a
place of prayer and only 10% of them think they are places where they can find the spiritual fulfillment, peace or meaning of life
(Figure 3).
Figure 3. What do the worship places represent for you?
(left - Romanian respondent, right - foreign respondents)
In terms of the respondents' belief, measured on a scale of 1 to 5 in the questionnaire, 1 being 'little faithful' and 5 'very faithful',
27% respondents said that they are on level 3 (faith is the average / normal) and 29% on level 4 (the belief is high). 18% said the
level of their faith in God or in any other divine form was very low, 12% said they were 'little faithful' and 14% said they were 'very
faithful'.
Another question (Figure 4) is to identify the main reasons for a trip. The largest percentage of 50% is owned by prayer as the
main motivation of the Romanians for visiting. In general, the Romanian tourists adhering to a particular religion are determined
to visit a religious space for praying or for repentance, motivations which appear in people's lives, particularly in moments of
recession.
18% of the tourists are interested in the architecture and historical art, motivations generated by the process of knowledge and
education, and 12% of them visit the holy places for repentance. In a proportion of 20%, the tourists were motivated by curiosity,
especially to observe how a religious service is performed, what types of songs are used and other elements in accordance with
the perception of each tourist.
50%
12%
18%
20% prayer
repetance
interests in architecture and
paintings
other options
Figure 4. Which is the main motivation for taking a religious travel?
The question 'What are the elements that attract you in order to take a religious travel?' (Figure 5) was made in order to identify
the cultural elements which determine the tourists to take a religious journey. 30% of those questioned are attracted to the
presence of the miraculous icons. In Bucharest, the icons that attract the countless visitors are: the one of the Mother of God in
the Hermitage of Mothers, and that of Anthony the Great, in the "Annunciation" Church, which in 1847 burned entirely, the only
object left untouched by fire being this icon. The relics of saints are elements that attract 34% of the interviewed tourists,
considering that they are also miraculous. In a lower proportion, 26% of the tourists were interested in the diverse architectural
styles within the churches in Bucharest, and 10% chose other options, motivating they travel for neither religious nor architectural
reasons.
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30%
34%
26%
10%
relic s of som e sai nts
mi raculo us ic ons
arc hitec ture o f buil dings
oth er opt ions
10%
65%
20%
5%
relic s of s ome sain ts
mir aculo us ico ns
arc hitec ture of buil dings
oth er opti ons
Figure 5. Which are the elements that appeal to you in taking the religious travel?
(left - Romanian respondents, right - foreign respondents)
Identifying the motivations of the foreign tourists is related to the types of cultural elements that attract the tourists who will take a
religious travel. Thus, 65% of tourists are interested in the church architecture, painting and historical art. 10% and respectively
5% correspond to the items related to spirit or holy and also to the miraculous icons or the relics of some saints (Figure 5).
Another question with open response ’What are the main worship places in Bucharest that you have visited?’ has put into front
the main tourist or pilgrimage attractions preferred by visitors. The highest attractions are: the church St. George the New,
especially during the celebration of St. Dimitrie Basarabov, the Patriarchal Cathedral, the "Annunciation" Church for the
miraculous icon, the Cernica Monastery near Bucharest, but also the Plumbuita Monastery and Antim Monastery.
Regarding the degree of discomfort that the pilgrimage tourism provokes in the capital (especially in the area of Unirii Square
where there is the most important pilgrimage in the capital (Saint Dimitrie Basarabov - Protector of Bucharest), 70% of the
respondents answered that ’yes, this blocks the circulation’, while 30% of them do not consider the same, arguing that this area
is generally crowded,even in the days when there are no religious events in the Metropolitan Hill area, and therefore it is more a
problem of the urban infrastructure than an organizational issue.
Among the Romanians, the idea of visiting a place following the recommendations of the family and friends is quite common, that
is why 52% of the tourists chose the friends and family as their source. With a percentage of 22%, the travel agencies are the
main source of information, especially belonging to the Romanian Patriarchate, called the Basilica Travel, which organizes most
of the religious travels in Romania (Figure 6). The mass-media occupy 18%, being generally preferred by the young people,
while 8% represent other options.
18%
22%
52%
8%
mass-media
travel agencies
friends, family
other options
Figure 6. If you decide to go on a travel for religious purposes, which are the main sources of information that you use?
Regarding the use of the tourist services of some agencies dealing with religious tourist packages, 76% of the foreign tourists
have responded that they did not use them, they are in Bucharest for practicing unorganized cultural tourism in groups made up
of friends or family members. The rest of 24% visit the religious objectives as an integral part of the offer of the travel agencies
they booked the tour package. Unlike the Romanian tourists, they are mostly informed using the Internet or the travel agencies
and are less influenced in their choice by family or friends.
According to Figure 7, 40% of the Romanians interviewed about the number of visits in Bucharest for religious tourism have
answered they visited the city 1-2 times, and only 10% of them visited the monastic settlements more than 10 times.
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40%
24%
26%
10%
twice
3
-
4 times
6
-
7 times
more than 10 times
Figure 7. How many times have you visited Bucharest for a religious tourist interest?
When questioning about the presence of a tourist guide on the religious trips of the visitors to Bucharest, 69% responded that
they were not accompanied by a guide and 31% said the travel agency they traveled has provided them with a tourist guide
presenting them the religious objectives.
The tourists responded in a proportion of 71 % that they go with family or friends and only 29% of them take the solitary tour. In
the receiving ecclesiastical units, there were accommodated1% of the respondents, mainly, the accommodation being made for
people who have traveled through the travel agency of the Romanian Orthodox Church. 82% of the interviewed people
responded that they had never been accommodated in monastic settlements.
The question ’In your opinion, what is the role of the religious tourism?’ aims to identify the role of the religious tourism in the
minds of the tourists (Figure 8). The largest percentage, 49% was held by the ’closeness to God’, so a spiritual role in the human
life, and 11% claimed that it brings benefits to the community by increasing visibility, investing in infrastructure and embellishing
the public domain. 21% answered that the religious tourism brings economic benefits to the church, both with the money that
each trustee/believer leaves in the visiting process, as well as with the sales earned by the church travel agency.
49%
21%
11%
19% closeness to God
it brings economic benefits
to the church
it brings benefits to the
community
other options
Figure 8. In your opinion, what is the role of the religious tourism?
Summing up the results of the questionnaire, it is clear, from the total number of the persons interviewed, that almost half of
them (46%) consider that, in Bucharest, the cultural tourism occupy the 1st place, followed by the business one - 34%, and then,
the leisure tourism - 14%. Only 6% of the respondents consider that, in Bucharest, there is another type of tourism, other than
those listed above (shopping tourism, electoral tourism and fun tourism). What is surprising is that no respondent believes that
the religious or pilgrimage tourism is practiced here, which suggests that this type of tourism is poorly promoted among tourists
and/ or citizens or it is not as valuable important for tourists and citizens like the cultural tourism is, which has really had an
increase in its exposure and promotion in the last 10-15 years.
Regarding the respondents' perception on the religious and pilgrimage tourism in relation to the development of tourism in
Bucharest, 56% consider that it can positively influence the tourism in the capital, 32% consider that it can not be influenced, and
12% have chosen ’I do not know’.
The question about the degree of participation in a future tourist tour in Bucharest, including the most important places of
worship, received interesting answers from the participants, among the most interesting answers being:
'No, I would not participate in them because I believe that these buildings must be individually visited and discovered in
such a way’.
'Yes, to satisfy my curiosity about the design of the famous places in Bucharest’.
'Yes, I would participate because Bucharest has a multitude of places of worship with impressive stories ...'
'I would only participate if they were dealing with themes such as architecture or history, or if these lodges are visited
alongside other buildings of similar historical / architectural importance. A tour just for places of worship seems to me to
be more a pilgrimage, which includes the spiritual side I'm not interested in. I think that Bucharest has no such spiritual
importance as the Vatican, Mecca etc. in order to address this issue separately, at least until the Cathedral of Salvation
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of the Nation is built and will attract as much as a building, not as a religious symbol in my opinion. So, as an individual,
I would visit these places of worship in an extended, not only religious context. But also, there are many and some of a
rather large historical / architectural importance which would attract tourists interested in the subject'.
'No, I'm not a religious person'.
'Yes, I think there are some interesting architectural monuments'.
'Yes, because it is an architectural treasure'.
'No, I do not think it has such a strong value that it counts on tourism'.
'No, I would not attend. I believe that gratitude and gratitude or prayer to God is a personal thing that can be done
anywhere, anytime'.
'No, I would not attend. I believe that the promotion of Bucharest should go in the cultural direction'.
'Yes, because they are representative of the city'.
'Yes. I would participate to receive information about these places from someone specialized in the field'.
'Yes. There is potential for such tourism in Bucharest. There are certainly many things to offer'.
Although the degree of participation in a future tour on a historical-religious theme obtained 7% in its detriment, however, the
number of those who would participate in such a tour should not be overlooked, those who said ’yes’ to an eventually tour will
discover those places from the historical, cultural and architectural perspective, and less from the spiritual-religious one,
considering that such activity must be done individually and not in the group.
The religious tourism in Bucharest is relatively new on the market, especially for the foreign tourists who are interested in issues
related to the communist regime such as the Parliament Palace / People's House and less in the cultural and religious aspects of
the capital. But it is inevitable that when you visit Bucharest, you will not deviate from your own route, when every street
encounters a church or monastery with an unbelievable impressive story and history. In the future, the Cathedral of Salvation
may be a point of attraction for Bucharest, but according to respondents, it will not attract tourists for its spiritual aura, but rather
for its grandiosity. This type of tourism is supported by the places of worship of the Old Centre, but also by the Unirii Square,
where the Romanian Patriarchate and the Patriarchate Cathedral is a model of the Romanian Orthodox architecture.
CONCLUSIONS
The religious tourism is at an early stage of development as a result of the lack of promotion and support of some tours that
promote the cultural side of these ancient religious objectives and of historical importance to the capital. But it has a great
development potential for the religious objectives in Bucharest which attract visitors not only for religious reasons but also for
history, diverse architecture or artistic value, as the results of the questionnaire show.
Quite often, both the Romanians and foreigner tourists, once arrived in the area of these churches, become impressed and
interested in them, which is important for the places of worship them selves as they receive tourists and become known to a
larger group of people. Most foreign tourists are impressed by the fresco and architecture, while some believe that the religious
processions they attended are smoothing and make them come closer to deity (although they do not understand the Romanian
language). On the other hand, the Romanian tourists are more impressed by the religious processions or the energy that the
holy icons and sacred relics offer when they are praying.
Generally, the Western tourists are less faithful, and therefore they put more emphasis on the architectural and cultural aspect of
the religious objectives in Bucharest, while the Romanian tourists are more interested in the prayer. Therefore, the obvious
contrast between the two types of tourists, most of the Romanian tourists choose to be present and to leave worries behind while
praying, while the foreign tourists immortalize the moment, taking pictures of the church paintings and places of worship.
The feedback left on sites like www.tripadviser.com shows that most of the foreign tourists suggest future tourists in Romania
and Bucharest to visit the places of worship in Bucharest, for their architecture and painting, and especially to visit the
Patriarchate Cathedral, which is the central point of Romanian Orthodoxy for some of them.
The religious tourism can be developed in Bucharest in the future by a strategy that also includes the cultural-historical aspect of
the religious objectives, because the age category that is interested and practicing this type of tourism is between 40-65 years
old (which is more interested in the religious side of this type of tourism), while the young adults who would like to practice this
type of tourism are less interested in the religious side than in the cultural and historical sides of these places.
*Author Contributions: All authors have equal contribution to the preparation of this scientific paper.
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