Visitor typologies in Sufi religious tourism: Insights from hosts at the El Sayed Ahmed El-Badawy Shrine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18778/0867-5856.2026.10Słowa kluczowe:
Sufism, host perceptions, typology of visitors, pious pilgrim, religious tourism, EgyptAbstrakt
This study addresses the under-researched area of Sufism within religious tourism, specifically examining how Sufi hosts perceive Muslim and non-Muslim visitors at the El Sayed Ahmed El-Badawy mosque and tomb in Egypt. Utilizing qualitative methods, the research identifies five distinct visitor types based on their behaviors and interactions. Notably, Sufi hosts perceive the concept of the “pious pilgrim” differently from Western literature, emphasizing a broader understanding that includes those who engage meaningfully with Sufi practices and teachings. The findings contribute to tourism marketing strategies by highlighting the diverse demands of different visitor groups, thus enabling better management and interpretation of Sufi sites. This research not only enriches the academic discourse on religious tourism but also offers practical insights for enhancing visitor experiences and sustaining the sanctity of Sufi sites.
Pobrania
Bibliografia
Adam, M. (2025, February 24). Egypt’s untapped potential: How religious tourism can revitalize the industry. Daily News Egypt. https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2025/02/24/opinion-egypts-untapped-potential-how-religious-tourism-can-revitalize-the-industry/
Aman, A. (2017, October 22). Huge crowds descend on Egyptian city to celebrate Sufi mystic. Al-Monitor. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2017/10/tanta-gathers-sufis-from-all-over-egypt.html
Asal, M. (2022). Tanta to host biggest Mawlid in Egypt in 4 days. Egypt Today. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/6/25685/Tanta-to-host-biggest-Mawlid-in-Egypt-in-4-days
Aukland, K. (2018). At the confluence of leisure and devotion: Hindu pilgrimage and domestic tourism in India. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 6(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.21427/D7ZB0B
Brown, J. (2011, December). Salafis and Sufis in Egypt. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Middle East Center. https://carnegieendowment.org/files/salafis_sufis.pdf
Çakmaktaş, B., & Özçelik, A. (2025). Understanding global trends and key influences in Sufi studies: A comprehensive analysis. Sage Open, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251357164
Cheraghi, E., Ghaderi, Z., Dehghan Pour Farashah, M., & Rudolf, W. (2025). Cross-cultural interactions in religious tourism: A stakeholder perspective during a spiritual event. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 12(1), 238–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/20565607.2025.2564436
Choe, J. (2024). Religious tourism. Tourism Geographies: An International Journal of Tourism Space, Place and Environment, 27(3–4), 830–839. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2024.2423168
Cohen, E. (1979). A phenomenology of tourist experiences. Sociology, 13(2), 179–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/003803857901300203
Collins-Kreiner, N. (2010). Current Jewish pilgrimage tourism: modes and models of development. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 58(3), 259–270. https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/94050
Collins-Kreiner, N., & Kliot, N. (2000). Pilgrimage tourism in the Holy Land: The behavioral of Christian pilgrims. GeoJournal, 50(1), 55–67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41147449
Doğukan Çıkı, K., & Tanrıverdi, H. (2023). Understanding the travellers’ mosque experiences: The case of Istanbul. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 11(6), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.21427/TSX6-JN62
Ebadi, M. (2014). Typologies of the visitors at Khaled Nabi shrine, Iran: Tourists or pilgrims? International Journal of Culture, Tourism & Hospitality Research, 8(3), 310–321. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-05-2013-0033
Elhadary, T. (2018). Sufi tourism: The impact of Sufi heritage on Islamic religious tourism. In A. Jamal, R. Raj & K. Griffin (Eds.), Islamic tourism: Management of travel destinations (pp. 110–123). CABI.
Ezenagu, N., Layefa, G., Okpoko, P.U., & Okpoko, C.C. (2022). Exploring faith-based tourism products in selected sacred spaces of south-western Nigeria. Pharos Journal of Theology, 103, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.10338
Ghaderi, Z., Hall, C., Scott, N., & Béal, L. (2020). Islamic beliefs and host-guest relationships in Iran. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 90, Article 102603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102603
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
Guia, J., & Jamal, T. (2023). An affective and posthumanist cosmopolitan hospitality. Annals of Tourism Research, 100, Article 103569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103569
Haq, F., & Medhekar, A. (2020). The rise of spiritual tourism in South Asia as business internationalization. Journal of Management and Research, 7(1), 52–78. https://ojs.umt.edu.pk/index.php/jmr/article/view/367
Hidayat, Z. (2023). Tariqa Shattariyya (TS) and spiritual tourism in Pariaman, Indonesia. International Journal of Religious Tourism & Pilgrimage, 11(2), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.21427/QARQ-FS88
Huma, Z.e. (2024). Religious and cultural tourism in Sindh: A case study of Sufi saints of rural Sindh. Annals of Human & Social Science, 5(2), 491–498. https://doi.org/10.35484/ahss.2024(5-II)45
Kayal, G. (2023). The personas and motivation of religious tourists and their impact on intentions to visit religious sites in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 9(1), 201–219. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-04-2022-0092
Lee, J., Hardy, P., Keith, L., & Walker, J. (2023). Egypt. Lonely Planet.
Lee, Y., & Cho, H.D. (2025). Visitor experience model at the Marian Shrine of La Vang. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 13(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.21427/accc-9x23
Liasidou, S., Pericleous, K., & Garanti, Z. (2025). Development of religious tourism: Perceptions of Christian Orthodoxy ecclesiastical communities and leaders. Tourism Review, 1(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-12-2024-1100
Liro, J. (2024). The interdependencies of religious tourists’ attributes and tourist satisfaction in the light of contemporary socio-cultural changes. Current Issues in Tourism, 27(3), 356–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2023.2214852
Milman, A., & Oren, G. (2018). In praise of hospitality: The role extended by religious hosts as drivers of satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research, 12(3), 348–365. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-04-2018-0049
Mishra, R., Sharma, A.S., Singh, V., & Bagde, M. (2024). Exploring quantitative and qualitative approaches in hospitality and tourism research. Xoffencer International Publication. https://zenodo.org/records/13985441
Patton, M.Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Phi, G.T., Pham, T.H., & Vu, N. (2025). Enhancing mindfulness through communities of practice in Buddhist spiritual tourism: A study of transformative experience at Plum Village. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 13(3), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.21427/0xmr-v772
Polus, R., Carr, N., & Walters, T. (2022). Conceptualizing the changing faces of pilgrimage through contemporary tourism. International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 5, 321–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41978-022-00109-7
Prasad, S.D., VT, B., & Dixit, S. (2023). Community support for religious tourism: The role of place image, community attachment, and overall quality of life. Tourism: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 71(2), 398–410. https://doi.org/10.37741/t.71.2.11
Rodrigues, S., & McIntosh, A. (2014). Motivations, experiences and perceived impacts of visitation at a Catholic monastery in New Zealand. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 9(4), 271–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2014.899602
Santos, X.M. (2002). Pilgrimage and tourism at Santiago de Compostela. Tourism Recreation Research, 27(2), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2002.11081219
Sharma, N., & Timothy, D. (2023). Endurance rituals, performativity and religious tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 100, Article 103552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103552
Shi, F., & Pandi, K. (2022). Commercialization at religious sites: Who cares and why? Current Issues in Tourism, 26(14), 2284–2300. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2085546
Shinde, K.A., & Rizello, K. (2014). A cross-cultural comparison of weekend–trips in religious tourism: Insights from two cultures, two countries (India and Italy). International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 2(2), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.21427/D7PF0W
Singh, P., Singh, A.K., Singh, A.K., & Ansari, I.A. (2023). What shapes visitor experience at religious destinations? Deploying a systematic review to identify visitor experience constructs. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 11(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.21427/EWAY-NE90
Smith, V.L. (1992). Introduction: The quest in guest. Annals of Tourism Research, 19(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(92)90103-V
Tacey, D. (2004). The spirituality revolution: The emergence of contemporary spirituality. Routledge.
Tracy, S.J. (2024). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Triantafillidou, A., Koritos, C., Chatzipanagiotou, K., & Vassilikopoulou, A. (2010). Pilgrimages: The “promised land” for travel agents? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 22(3), 382–398. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596111011035963
Tsai, H.-Y.M. (2021). Exploring the motivation-based typology of religious tourists: A study of Welcome Royal Lord Festival. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, Article 100623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100623
Vukonic, B. (2002). Religion, tourism & economics: A convenient symbiosis. Tourism Recreation Research, 27(2), 59–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2002.11081221
What is Tanta’s Moulid Al-Sayyid Al-Badawi? (2025, November 5). Egyptian Streets. https://egyptianstreets.com/2025/11/05/what-is-tantas-moulid-al-sayyid-al-badawi/
Wong, C., McIntosh, A., & Ryan, C. (2013). Buddhism and tourism: Perceptions of the monastic community at Pu-Tuo-Shan, China. Annals of Tourism Research, 40, 213–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2012.09.004
Wong, C.U.I. (2019). Social interaction in visitor control at a Chinese Buddhist monastic site. Tourism Recreation Research, 44(1), 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2018.1523297
Zheng, Y., Fu, X., & Li, M. (2022). Mimi reification in tourism: An investigation of visitors’ interpretation of omamori. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 24, Article 100706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100706
Pobrania
Opublikowane
Numer
Dział
Licencja

Utwór dostępny jest na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa – Użycie niekomercyjne – Bez utworów zależnych 4.0 Międzynarodowe.



