Edinburgh Napier University

  This paper aims to conceptualize the pilgrimage and tourism relationship in the contemporary world. As the boundaries between pilgrimage and tourism have become blurred, there is a need to find a more holistic way to understand the nuances of the pilgrimage-tourism relationship. This conceptual paper argues that pilgrimage offers a stage for rejuvenation in the contemporary era. In the 21st Century, the concept of pilgrimage travel has re-emerged in tourism with a new identity that goes beyond the idea of pilgrimage as a journey to a sacred place. Building on this recognition, this paper provides a conceptual framework that emphasizes the linkages between pilgrimage and contemporary tourism using three core elements: meaning, ritual, and transformation. This framework allows broader interpretations of pilgrimage travel in different phenomena of tourism in the contemporary era.