From Mecca to the Vatican to the Kumbh Mela: Religious Tourism on the Rise

Travel Blog  •  Elyse Franko  •  09.10.08 | 5:03 PM ET

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Photo of Vatican City by soylentgreen23, via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Religious destinations across the globe are profiting from pilgrimage tourism, according to The New York Times. Some choice statistics: the Vatican-based travel agency ORP is expecting to send 400,000 people on pilgrimages this year; more than 2 million Muslims travel to Mecca each year; and a mind-blowing 75 million people participate in Kumbh Mela, the Hindu pilgrimage festival.

 

Tags: Global Village, News and Briefs

Elyse Franko is a Long Island native, a graduate of the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C., and a former World Hum intern. During her time at university, she wrote and edited for several campus publications and fostered her love for traveling by spending time abroad in Istanbul, Turkey, and Berlin, Germany. She currently works as a teaching assistant in Vienna, Austria.


1 Comment for From Mecca to the Vatican to the Kumbh Mela: Religious Tourism on the Rise

Ling 09.11.08 | 8:06 AM ET

The Kumbh Mela is something you hafta see to believe it. These hermits come down off the Himalayas, and they roam around the town stark naked, long hair and all, carrying all sorts of things in their hands. Oh, and nobody asks them to pay for anything.

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