Self-expression and play: can religious tourism be hedonistic?

ABSTRACT

Using data collected from 538 Iranian tourists undertaking the religious pilgrimage of Umrah (i.e. voluntary travel to the holy city of Mecca at any time throughout the year), this study investigates the concept of play and its relationship with self-expression and hedonism in an Islamic tourism context. By testing a theoretically derived structural model, the findings suggest that self-expression strongly influences tourists’ sense of play. Here, play is realised when tourists feel that they can express themselves freely and augment their self-image while travelling, irrespective of the religious context. Nonetheless, the pilgrimage environment is characterised by the religious congregation – with tourists engaging in communal experiences that reflect themselves and their faith. Therefore, the ideal experience, where tourists feel a sense of escapism from the pressures of everyday life, is a product of their ability to project, develop, and ratify their self-concept. Finally, the study suggests that pilgrimage managers and marketers should focus on the importance of play, enabling their destinations to heighten the intensity of the ‘enjoyable’ elements of religious travel (e.g. group camaraderie, escapism and positive emotional reactions) alongside their inherent religious benefits.

KEYWORDS:

• Play
• self-expression
• hedonism
• pilgrimage
• religious tourism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sean Lochrie is an Assistant Professor in Management at Heriot-Watt University, Dubai. His primary research interest focuses on the creation of custodianship behaviours within World Heritage Site management. Recent publications have explored stewardship and local community engagement in World Heritage Site management.

Ian W. F. Baxter is Director of the Scottish Confucius Institute for Business & Communication at Heriot-Watt University and Professor of Historic Environment Management at the University of Suffolk, UK. He originally trained as an archaeologist and has spent 25 years undertaking applied research and consultancy, working with national heritage and tourism organisations on historic site visitor experience management and organisational knowledge development.

Elaine Collinson is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences – Director of Postgraduate Studies & Director of Corporate Executive Development, Heriot-Watt University, UK. Over 25 years’ experience in the Higher Education sector, with publications in the areas of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Education and Industry Collaboration.

Ross Curran is an Assistant Professor in Management at Heriot-Watt University, Dubai. His primary research interests focus on nonprofit marketing and volunteer management practices, as well as areas of authenticity and heritage in tourist consumption.

Martin Joseph Gannon is a Teaching Associate at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strathclyde Business School (University of Strathclyde). He holds a variety of research interests including entrepreneurial philanthropy, family business governance and marketing, heritage marketing management, tourism management, and consumer behaviour. To this end, his research is available in the Journal of Consumer Culture, the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Current Issues in Tourism, the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, and the Service Industries Journal.

Babak Taheri is an Associate Professor of Marketing in the Business Management Department at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK. His research is characterised by a dual focus on ‘consumer behaviour’ and ‘marketing management’, with particular interest in the area of tourism, hospitality and heritage. Babak has over 90 academic publications, and currently serves as Associate Editor for the Service Industries Journal and Tourism Management Perspectives.

Jamie Thompson is a PhD student at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, where he is an active member of the Business Management Department in the School of Social Sciences. His primary research interests are in tourism management, particularly looking at international volunteer tourism from a host community perspective and the management of volunteers within host communities.

Ozge Yalinay is a PhD student in Business Management at Heriot-Watt University. Prior to beginning the PhD programme, she received her master’s degree in International Marketing Management from Heriot-Watt University. Her current research interests comprise contemporary cultural studies in a marketplace, with a particular focus on the Istanbul Bazaar.