Turkey uses religion to lure tourists

Website article: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080720/FOREIGN/810801243/1041/ART
Thomas Seibert, Foreign Correspondent

A woman prepares wreaths outside Mary’s House chapel near Selcuk, Turkey. Authorities and tour operators have identified many biblical sites to try to attract additional visitors and revenue. Menahem Kahana / AFP
ISTANBUL // Forget about sun, beaches and all-inclusive hotels. The hottest travel trend in Turkey is religious tourism, as such sites as the house of Mary, mother of Jesus, the church of the original Santa Claus and the ancient hometown of St Paul are attracting a growing number of visitors.

Although Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country today, many important events in Christian history and tradition took place in Anatolia, a heritage that authorities and tour operators have identified as a source for additional visitors and revenue.

“These are different tourists from those you find in [beach hotels in] Antalya,” said Fugen Kolsal, the owner of Oktogon Tourism, a travel agency in Istanbul that specialises in “biblical tours” and other offers for visitors interested in the history of early Christianity. “They are older, more conservative, they are open for the country and its people, they have more money, and they reach places where normal tourists will never go.”

A Religious Tourism Project, conducted by Turkey’s tourism ministry, aims to “increase the number of visitors to important centres” of religious history, most of which are connected to Christianity, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The project includes the church of the original Santa Claus, St Nicholas, in Demre near Antalya; the so-called “House of Mother Mary” near Izmir, where, according to legend, the mother of Jesus lived after the death of her son; and the Hagia Sophia church in Iznik near Bursa, where bishops laid the theological foundations for today’s Christianity in meetings in the fourth and eighth century AD.

The Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, or Tursab, is planning a symposium on religious tourism in Antakya, the former Antiochia, this year. Antakya is known as the place where followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time and where apostles Paul and Peter met.

A recent initiative by the Catholic Church has provided an additional impetus. Pope Benedict XVI officially launched the Vatican’s Year of St Paul on June 28. Paul, one of the most important followers of Jesus, was born in Tarsus – in what is today southern Turkey – 2,000 years ago. The St Paul Church in Tarsus, which has served as a museum, will be opened for religious services throughout the year.

“We are getting bookings for next year, especially because of the year of St Paul,” said Ilhan Ucak, the owner of Sempa Tur, a travel agency in Istanbul that organises religious tours.

In Tarsus itself, the Year of St Paul has started to make itself felt already. “We have more tourists than before,” said Nadir Durgun of the tourism department in the Tarsus municipality. He said a total of 16,322 tourists from more than 40 countries visited the city last year, but many more were expected this year, especially in September and October, when the summer heat is over.

The tourism ministry said in a recent statement that “millions of Christian pilgrims are expected to meet in Tarsus” in the Year of St Paul, but this expectation might be exaggerated, Mr Durgun said. “Perhaps 100,000 would be more realistic,” he said.

A city of 230,000 people that suffers from high unemployment after local textile factories closed, Tarsus is so dependent on the tourist trade that the arrival of bigger tour groups is celebrated as a major event in the city. “Tarsus has been inundated with tourists,” the local newspaper Tarsus reported after the visit of 1,000 US tourists in April.

Tarsus is planning to build more hotels to keep visitors in the city for longer, Mr Durgun said. “Right now, many people come by bus, look at St Paul’s Church and drive off again,” he said. A weak infrastructure in such places as Tarsus is only one reason holding religious tourism back. Recent events, such as the kidnapping of three German mountaineers by Kurdish rebels on the biblical Ararat Mountain in eastern Turkey, scare off potential visitors, said Ms Kolsal of Oktogon Tourism. “I have three tour groups going to eastern Turkey in the autumn, but I’m concerned that they will cancel. Every year there is something new” that keeps visitors away, she said.

The Germans were released yesterday.

Also, Turkey has not yet made the most of its biblical and Christian heritage, Ms Kolsal said. “There is much still to be shown,” she said. But the rise in religious tourism has also led to fears in nationalist circles that the Christian West may try to claim Turkish territory and that Christian missionaries may try to exploit the opening of historic sites to convert Turkish Muslims to Christianity. The aim behind all the infrastructure improvements and restorations of Christian and ancient sites in Turkey was clear, the nationalist magazine Ufuk Otesi commented this month: “To take Anatolia, a former Christian territory, from our hand … Everything that is done under the motto of religious tourism only serves to put this plan into practice.”

tseibert@thenational.ae

World Religious Travel Expo Will Shape New Era in Faith Tourism

LITTLETON, CO – The World Religious Travel Association (WRTA) will host the first annual World Religious Travel Expo, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2008, in Orlando, FL. A historic and unprecedented event, the tradeshow and educational conference will feature a gathering of today’s “Who’s Who” in the 300 million religious traveler market. Hundreds of travel wholesalers, suppliers, media, tourist boards, agencies, group planners, travel ministry leaders and pastors are expected from throughout North America and around the world.

Current sponsors and exhibitors include prominent organizations such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Trafalgar Tours, Collette Vacations, MTS Travel, Raptim Travel, Unitours, Group IST, 206 Tours, Jordan Tourism Board of North America, Switzerland Tourism, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Israel Ministry of Tourism, Egypt Tourist Authority, Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau, Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism, Rail Europe, Passport Health, WordSpring Discovery Center, and Christian Travel Finder among others.

“Expo 2008 is the most important event of the year for any organization, group planner, or pastor involved in the promotion or participation of faith-based travel,” said Kevin J. Wright, WRTA president. “The World Religious Travel Expo will serve as a pivot point between the Old and New Era of faith tourism. The result will be the emergence of a new generation of leaders in faith tourism, as well the launch of many new travel ministry programs.”

The WRTA Expo will feature two venues: The International Tradeshow and The Educational Conference. The combined event will provide the first world-class forum for travel suppliers, destinations, wholesalers, agencies and church travel planners to come face-to-face, develop and find new products and services, and build long-term relationships. All market segments will be represented at the Expo, including pilgrimage, cruising, missions, leisure vacations, attractions, conferences, retreats, Christian camps, and volunteer vacations, among others. Exhibitors will include tour operators, tourist boards, cruise lines, transportation companies, airlines, travel agencies, event planning services, hotels and accommodations, missionary agencies, travel insurance companies and faith-based destinations among others.

“As a Holy Land destination that provides a one-stop location to meet all the needs of faith-based travelers – from cruising to adventure, retreats to study tours and all the segments in between – we are delighted to sponsor the WRTA Expo,” said Malia Asfour, director of the Jordan Tourism Board of North America (JTBNA), a WRTA charter member. “We look forward to working with WRTA to showcase fresh and unique travel opportunities for this dynamic and growing industry.”

The World Religious Travel Association (WRTA) already has announced two of the keynote speakers for this fall’s historic World Religious Travel Expo 2008 in Orlando, Florida: the Honorable Neko C. Grant, Bahamas Minister of Tourism, and Maurice Zarmati, President & CEO of Costa Cruise Lines. The selected keynote speakers reflect the growth and diversity of today’s faith tourism industry. The Bahamas has developed itself into a top destination for this vast and lucrative market, serving as an ideal getaway for faith-based events, meetings, cruises, missionary travel, leisure vacations, and much more. Costa Cruise Lines represents one of the newest and most popular vacation choices of today’s faith-based consumer….cruising. Today, hundreds of churches and religious organizations embark each year on cruises to the Caribbean, Alaska and the Mediterranean, among other places.

The Educational Conference will provide the most comprehensive learning program ever offered on faith tourism – for both trade and group planners. Through leading industry speakers, dynamic presentations, panel discussions, interactive break-out sessions, seminars and peer networking forums, the trade participants can expand their knowledge of the opportunities in the new niche markets within faith tourism. Group planners will attend product seminars hosted by travel industry experts, while also learning how to enrich and expand their travel ministry programs.

The Expo will be hosted Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2008 at the renowned Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The top-rated facility and environment provides an exceptional forum for networking and exhibiting. More than 100 exhibitors and more than 400 participants are expected at the unprecedented event.

To learn more or register online, visit www.religioustravelexpo.com or call 1-800-657-1288. For more information about becoming a WRTA Member and joining the leading network for the religious travel industry, visit www.religioustravelassociation.com.

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Religious tourism in Rome: transport discounts with pilgrim card

Religious tourism in Rome: transport discounts with pilgrim card

Read the full article at http://www.blogdolcevita.com/post/559/religious-tourism-in-rome-transport-discounts-with-pilgrim-card


The Catholic Church is getting Rome organised with a new transport initiative for pilgrims. The Rome transport association, ATAC, together with Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, have agreed to create a Carta del Pellegrino, or Pilgrim’s Card, for the celebrations of the Paolino jubilee. The card creates one ticket for all ATAC transport and the “Roma Cristiana” Open Bus lines, which will be valid for one or three days.

This is only the first phase as it’s likely the program will also extend to other services including giuded tours, church visits and museums, including the local public transport system. The card will be available in both ATAC sales points and Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi points.

The news comes from Adnmundo.com and Roma Notizie. Go to the ATAC and Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi sites for more information.

Journeys of the Spirt Festival Announced by Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rosamaria Mancini/ Press Office
+39 06/69896301/3351609526
r.mancini@jospfest.com

ORP Announces Josp Fest, Journeys of the Spirit Festival

25 June, 2008, Rome - Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi announces today the launch of Josp Fest, Journeys of the Spirit Festival, the first international festival dedicated to “journeys” of the spirit.
The four-day festival, to be held from 15 to 18 January at the New Rome Fair Grounds, is an event that “celebrates” pilgrims and calls on all people of the world who desire to “begin a journey” that stimulates and contributes to spiritual growth.
Josp Fest, which will bring together the public and industry operators, is different and like no other event because it’s focused not only on pilgrimages to sacred locations, but also on the interior experience that come along with these journeys.
“The theme of the interior journey is important because it distinguishes these itineraries of faith from existing offerings that do not give the possibility of an interior experience that allows us to find the truth in ourselves concerning God and our world,” said Father Cesare Atuire, director general of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.
Using new technology, Josp Fest will allow visitors to create a dialogue with diverse churches, faith-based communities and religions, as well as different nations and civilizations.
The festival will also offer extensive programs, performances and meetings in modern spaces that will entertain both young and old, as well as inform, stimulate, reflect and evangelize with joy.
“Sing and walk,” a phrase by St. Augustine, is the theme of the first edition of Josp Fest as it clearly describes the pilgrimage experience.
Josp Fest is the result of the continuing popularity of religion and spirituality as motivation for travel. This type of travel, or pilgrimage, that dates as far back to Egyptian Empire when out-of-towners streamed into the city to attend religious festivals, has over the years become associated with stereotypes such as niche market and trips for adults of a certain age.
Josp Fest, however, is the great opportunity to help eliminate those stereotypes and to retrain the tourism industry to focus on the dynamic aspects of the pilgrimage experience.
Rome, the city of Pope Benedict XVI, is the host city for Josp Fest because it’s the capital of Christian faith and the only city in the world that has had 2,000 continuous years of Christianity.
Rome, rich in religious sites and monuments, is the place to begin a spiritual journey, and its central geographical location also makes it the ideal departure point for pilgrims to take off from and visit the rest of the religious world.
Rome, a city that is highly regarded for its capacity to receive people, and the Church of Rome that St. Ignatius of Antioch said, “presides in charity,” are prepared to host this unique international event in 2009.
For more information visit our newly launched web site at www.jospfest.com
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