Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists
Customer classification is an integral part of marketing planning activities. Researchers have struggled to classify “pilgrims” and “tourists” because these groups overlap to a large extent in terms of their identities while participating in religious activities/sightseeing. To achieve sustainable t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/8/413 |
| _version_ | 1797558496181354496 |
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| author | Kuo-Yan Wang Azilah Kasim Jing Yu |
| author_facet | Kuo-Yan Wang Azilah Kasim Jing Yu |
| author_sort | Kuo-Yan Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Customer classification is an integral part of marketing planning activities. Researchers have struggled to classify “pilgrims” and “tourists” because these groups overlap to a large extent in terms of their identities while participating in religious activities/sightseeing. To achieve sustainable tourism development for the region with rich religious and cultural characteristics, the present article outlines a process for analyzing the motivation of participants attending religious festival of Mazu in Taiwan and then classifies religious festival participants according to their motivations. Using cluster sampling, a total of 280 responses were obtained and analyzed. The results revealed four different motivation categories: Fun traveler, devout believer, cultural enthusiast, and religious pragmatist. The study concludes that while festivalgoers are influenced by secularization to some extent, the original doctrine of the religion epitomized in the festivals fundamentally retains the essence and spirit of its religious rituals. The findings may have a significant value for the development of religious tourism marketing as it offers a foundation for future research seeking to develop regional cultural and religious sightseeing attractions sustainably. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:32:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c2e6a54fd8843daa335e7940b224d32 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:32:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c2e6a54fd8843daa335e7940b224d322023-11-20T09:58:01ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-08-0111841310.3390/rel11080413Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and TouristsKuo-Yan Wang0Azilah Kasim1Jing Yu2Department of Marketing in School of Economics and Management, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming 525000, ChinaSchool of Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok 06010, MalaysiaDepartment of Marketing in School of Economics and Management, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming 525000, ChinaCustomer classification is an integral part of marketing planning activities. Researchers have struggled to classify “pilgrims” and “tourists” because these groups overlap to a large extent in terms of their identities while participating in religious activities/sightseeing. To achieve sustainable tourism development for the region with rich religious and cultural characteristics, the present article outlines a process for analyzing the motivation of participants attending religious festival of Mazu in Taiwan and then classifies religious festival participants according to their motivations. Using cluster sampling, a total of 280 responses were obtained and analyzed. The results revealed four different motivation categories: Fun traveler, devout believer, cultural enthusiast, and religious pragmatist. The study concludes that while festivalgoers are influenced by secularization to some extent, the original doctrine of the religion epitomized in the festivals fundamentally retains the essence and spirit of its religious rituals. The findings may have a significant value for the development of religious tourism marketing as it offers a foundation for future research seeking to develop regional cultural and religious sightseeing attractions sustainably.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/8/413festivalcustomer classificationfactor analysismotivationfolklore belief |
| spellingShingle | Kuo-Yan Wang Azilah Kasim Jing Yu Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists Religions festival customer classification factor analysis motivation folklore belief |
| title | Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists |
| title_full | Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists |
| title_fullStr | Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists |
| title_full_unstemmed | Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists |
| title_short | Religious Festival Marketing: Distinguishing between Devout Believers and Tourists |
| title_sort | religious festival marketing distinguishing between devout believers and tourists |
| topic | festival customer classification factor analysis motivation folklore belief |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/8/413 |
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