Socio-cultural meanings of tourism in a local-global context: implications for planning and development

This paper offers a conceptual and applied discussion on the meaning of “tourism”, and argues for greater attention to the sociological and socio-cultural aspects of travel and tourism. Understanding tourism and travel as journeys in meaning making helps to ensure that social impacts are factored into site and destination planning (hence enabling a holistic approach required by sustainable tourism development) Our examination of the sociology of tourism, particularly with respect to a new touristic culture and notipn of pilgrimage, shows that heritage related secular forms of travel and religious pilgrimages share some common characteristics: the trip is life-changing or transformative in some important way, and it involves ritualistic activity. These are important considerations in addition to the various social impacts of tourism addressed in the tourism literature. The paper also provides a case example discussing some of the considerations and issues related to developing a religious (church-based in this case) walking/driving tour at the local community level.