Motivations for the Demand for Religious Tourism: The Case of the Pilgrimage of the Virgin of Montserrat in Ecuador
Mauricio Carvache-Franco,
Wilmer Carvache-Franco,
Miguel Orden-Mejía,
Orly Carvache-Franco,
Luis Andrade-Alcivar,
Brigette Cedeño-Zavala
Affiliations
Mauricio Carvache-Franco
Universidad Bolivariana del Ecuador, Campus Durán Km 5.5 Vía Durán Yaguachi, Durán 092405, Ecuador
Wilmer Carvache-Franco
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Miguel Orden-Mejía
Facultat de Turisme i Geografia, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Carrer Joanot Martorell, 15, 43480 Vila-Seca, Spain
Orly Carvache-Franco
Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Km 1.5 Av. Carlos Julio Arosemena, Guayaquil 090308, Ecuador
Luis Andrade-Alcivar
Carrera de Turismo, Escuela Superior Politécnica Agropecuaria de Manabí, Calceta 130602, Ecuador
Brigette Cedeño-Zavala
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Religious tourism is one of the oldest forms of mobility for travel. This study aims at validating the motivational dimensions of demand in religious tourism. The present research was carried out with tourists who had attended the pilgrimage of the Virgin of Montserrat in the city of Montecristi (Ecuador), an important tourist destination that stands out for its culture and intangible heritage. This quantitative study had a sample of 298 valid questionnaires that were analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results identified five motivational dimensions: experience belief, experience religion, social exploration, escape, and shopping. The results will serve as a guide for private companies to develop products from religious tourism. Likewise, the research contributes significantly to the academic literature on religious tourism in emerging destinations.
