Tourism and Churches: Profiling, Behaviour and Motivations of "Church Chasers" in South Africa

Abstract

Churches in South Africa have a rich history. Church tourism is perfectly positioned to attract tourists to South Africa and forms part of heritage tourism. Church tourism involves tourists visiting sites of prayer and shrines for cultural, historical, and architectural reasons, but not specifically due to any religious motivation. Well-known church tourism attractions include the Notre Dame de Paris in Paris, the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, and the Groot Kerk – Dutch Reformed Church in Graaf Reinet, South Africa. Data for the study was gathered through online questionnaires, resulting in the formulation of a new subdivision of church tourism, namely "church chasers". “Church chasers” generally do not travel specifically to visit churches. However, their decision to do so can be seen as secondary. They mostly spend time at churches during family holidays and weekend getaways. They find architecture, history, and sandstone buildings the most entertaining during a visit. The paper's main aim was to establish “church chasers” typical profile, behaviour, and motivation as a "new" kind of tourist pursuit by focusing on tourists visiting churches in South Africa. The broader aim was to determine whether “church chasers” as a subdivision of heritage tourism could revitalise small-town tourism in South Africa

Keywords

• church tourism
• church chasers
• profiling
• motivations
• heritage tourism