Pilgrimage Events and Economics, Planning and Community Resilience

The book explores pilgrimage events annual mass gatherings such as Maha Kumbh Fair, Hajj, Lordes, and Kartarpur conceptualising pilgrimage tourism, its growing significance, social, cultural, and economic benefits, environmental impact and sustainable development.

It offers valuable insights by capturing mythology underlying the mass pilgrimage, crowd dynamics, supply chain logistics, environmental, community resilience, and fostering local entrepreneurship development and stakeholder’s public-private-partnerships. Drawing on theoretical perspectives, empirical research and real-world case studies, the book offers prospects of planning, managing, implementing public health concerns, supply chain, and resilience of the businesses and the local community to hold annual mega spiritual gatherings for the pilgrims. In doing so, it also promotes a shared vision for enhancing connectivity, commerce, trade, and collaboration for peace, progress and prosperity for social, cultural, economic impact for continuation of such centuries old spiritual pilgrim events for generations.

The book is intended for academics, tourism researchers, economists and students studying pilgrimage and religious tourism. It will also be valuable for government departments, international organisations as well as practitioners including religious organisations, tour operators, hospitality providers and event management stakeholders.

Surabhi Srivastava, is Senior Researcher (ICSSR Fellow, Ministry of Education, New Delhi), affiliated to University of Kota, Rajasthan, India. With 24 years as an educator, Post-doctoral fellow, an author and editor of 12 books under national & international publications, she is proficient at delving into the prospects for heritage tourism and award-winning alternative tourism strategies.

Anita Medhekar is a Senior Lecturer in Economics and affiliated to CQ University, Rockhampton, Australia, with 35 years of teaching, curriculum development, and research and experience. She has received numerous best research paper awards. Her research interests are in International Trade, Tourism and Health Economics, Asia, Australia and South Asian Economic Development and Growth. Anita has numerous refereed publications in journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters, with eight edited books with international publishers.