Emotional Connection, Materialism, and Religiosity: An Islamic Tourism Experience

ABSTRACT

Materialism and Islamic religiosity have been studied in tourism, but the influence of these concepts on the emotional connections established during an actual religious experience has yet to be explored. This study develops a model that links Islamic religiosity and materialism with the religious experience, communitas, and emotional connection with a sample of 538 Iranian Umrah participants using partial least squares. The study found significant effects of religious connection upon emotional connection. The research also identified the positive influence of Islamic religiosity upon communitas and the religious experience, alongside a negative impact of materialism on the religious experience.

KEYWORDS:

• Islamic religiosity
• materialism
• emotional connection
• destination marketing
• tourism religious experience

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Babak Taheri

Babak Taheri, PhD, is Assistant Professor in Marketing, School of Management and Languages, Esmee Fairbairn Building, Gait 12, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK (E-mail: [email protected]).