Religion and beliefs are used as packaging of commercial commodities to reap the benefits of the tourist market. Religious tour packages to holy sites follow market law by exploiting an increase in faith for profit.
By
Idi Subandy Ibrahim
·5 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
Idi Subandy Ibrahim
At the twilight of the end of 2022, from the height of the gondola we enjoyed the beautiful panorama of Thaif valley. The cool city in the mountains about 80 kilometers southeast of Mecca is one of the religious tourist destinations for Indonesian umrah/haj pilgrims.
To fulfil the taste of millennial Muslim pilgrims, right at the foot of the hill (Jabal) Nur, Mecca, the Al Wahyu Museum was built. With a magnificent diorama decorating the theater, under a splash of light a young guide from West Java brought visitors to trace the prophets and enter the replica model of Goa Hira. Visitors were like flying, watching the Arab landscape in a digital panorama.
Religious tourism, spiritual tourism, sacred tourism, tourism as a pilgrimage, pilgrimage as tourism, or faith tourism are all pilgrimage trips for religious or spirituality purposes in search for its meaning.
In the 21st century the internet can indeed present sacred sites and religious spaces virtually at home. Digital pilgrimage allows believers to view cultural and religious heritage sites from their sofa, with internet packages and smartphones. The spiritual longing can only be partly treated!
However, after two years of the pandemic, virtual tourism does not replace real experiences. The global religious tourism industry is growing again. Digitalization does not replace feelings, smells of soil, human desires to travel, and emotion and tears during pilgrimage.
Every great religion, even local religions, has the potential to attract the curiosity of pilgrims and foreign tourists. Nations of various religions and cultures, such as Indonesia, have a wealth of expression as capital to develop cultural and religious tourism.
Say the island of Bali, with the uniqueness of its culture as reflected in religious social life and customs are integrated with the behavior of people's lives. There are many old temples, sacred sites for Hindus. Likewise adherents of Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Buddhism and Confucianism have a number of sites, monuments, buildings and moments of celebrations with religious values.
The month of Ramadan is the momentum for Muslims to express religiosity in the touch of locality.
For Muslims in the nusantara (archipelago), certain religious traditions have long been part of the routine annual agenda. The month of Ramadan is the momentum for Muslims to express religiosity in the touch of locality. In Surakarta Palace, for example, there is the tradition of selikuran night to welcome lailatulkadar (night of power). The Ramadan festival and Kampoeng Ramadhan appear in various regions with various expressions. Religious nuance expressions have a special meaning for adherents that can cause a certain sense of exoticism for tourists. Indonesian halal tourism ranked second in the Global Muslim Travel Index 2022, below Malaysia.
The government, through the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, has taken various steps to explore this potential. There are so many places of pilgrimage, sites and religious buildings as well as the life habits of the people in the nusantara, which if more empowered might be able to maintain the valuable heritage from extinction.
In the past decade, religious tourism has become a multi-billion dollar business. Joining to spark other industries, such as flights, travel agencies, hospitality, arts, architecture, crafts, clothing, culinary and souvenirs with a variety of quality products and services.
Not surprisingly, many governments and tourist agents view the tourism industry as a way to save their economy and empower the cultural community. To maximize the potential of tourism capital, they are encouraged to attract as many tourists as possible by fulfilling human desires for new and unique experiences.
The revival of the economy of desires and economy of free time is an important part of the driving force of the global tourism industry. The blow of the global economic crisis has indeed raised cross-country flight tariffs, but the economic recovery of several countries, including Indonesia, has changed human flow from the south to the north.
Seeing the economic improvement of Muslims and the flow of Muslim tourists in Asia, several countries with a majority non-Muslim population, such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, are aggressive in capturing the opportunity for this tourist market. They have developed Muslim-friendly inclusive tourism sectors. Some even developed local cuisine with "halal tourism" packaging so that Muslim tourists feel comfortable.
So far, tourism is considered a profane and secular activity. The development of religious tourism is seen like a double-eyed sword.
A critical view worries that religious tourism encourages an increase in religious commodification. Religion and beliefs are used as packaging of commercial commodities to reap the benefits of the tourist market. Religious tour packages to holy sites follow market law by exploiting an increase in faith for profit.
Religion and beliefs are used as packaging of commercial commodities to reap the benefits of the tourist market.
In the era of popular digital culture, the difference between religious-themed park attractions and religious elements is melting. Moment of religious tourism becomes a cinematic show and digital experience to entertain the eyes of visitors rather than soften the hearts of believers. Then there emerges fear of religious erosion and local traditions in the representation of a tourist culture that is driven by a hedonic and consumptive lifestyle, which leads to waste and an environmental crisis.
Inclusive views are more optimistic. The development of religious tourism is considered not only able to attract tourists to encourage growth of the economy, but also provides important meeting places for visitors and the local community so that it becomes a space for shared meaning. This is needed to foster tolerance, respect and mutual understanding among different cultures to build cultural dialogue and world peace.
IDI SUBANDY IBRAHIM, Researcher on culture, media, and communication
