Cordoba to Host Religion, Tourism Conference

The Conference on Religions and Dialogue of Cultures in Cordoba, Spain, Oct. 29-31, will be convened by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of the government of Spain.

International tourism flows are experiencing continued growth at the same time that tourism destinations are diversifying geographically, reaching all cultures and civilizations.

Between the years 2000 and 2006 alone, international tourism grew from 684 million to 846 million arrivals and UNWTO forecasts nearly 1.6 billion in 2020. At the same time, religions motivate people to travel, and trips for religious reasons have multiplied over the past decades thanks to the facilitation of transport and the expansion of hotel accommodation that has accompanied the development of tourism in the late 20th and early 21st century.

Religious motivations that generate tourism trips include pilgrimages, the fulfillment of pledges, religious celebrations, visits to notable buildings, or monuments of a religious nature and offerings to divinities, among others.

The Conference on Religions and Dialogue of Cultures aims to analyze the relationships between tourism and religion and how to optimize their synergies and interactions by harnessing tourism’s potential to stimulate and facilitate dialogue among civilizations, cultures and religions.

It will also offer orientations and recommendations to governments, religious authorities and tourism operators for the sustainable development and management of tourism motivated by religious purposes or associated with religious heritage sites, as well as regarding how to optimize the benefits that such tourism can generate.