Despite the fact that secularism is growing in many regions of the world, the spirituality market is more current than ever. The creation and exploitation of products associated with spiritual themes has become very profitable.
In the United States alone, the market value of religious organizations in 2022 was about $156 billion. And in the Asia-Pacific region, the religious market, worth more than $5 billion in 2022, could reach nearly $16 billion in 2033.
A large part of these benefits come from spiritual tourism, which includes pilgrimages to sites of faith, spiritual retreats, tourists who visit religious sites for their historical or cultural value, museums, and periodic or unique events, such as World Youth Days or visits Papal, in the case of the Catholic religion. Some 600 million travelers around the world practice spiritual tourism.
Hippiescountercultural and mystical
50 years ago the counterculture hippy it raised a different spirituality from the one that the great religions proposed until then. The movement used meditation as a way of self-awareness and self-control. This proposal was well received by many of the musical idols of the time, including the Beatles.
“The Liverpool 4” helped change Western culture’s perception of Indian spirituality when, in 1968, at the height of their popularity, they held a spiritual retreat at the ashram (a place of meditation and Hindu teaching) of the guru Mahesh Prasad Varma. This generated the desire of thousands of young people to experience this type of experience.
Under the influence of this mystical experience, the Beatles composed songs like “Mother Nature’s Son”, “Sexy Sadie”, “All You Need is Love”, “Across the Universe” or “My Sweet Lord”, among others.
A non-religious spirituality
Interest in the mystical world, which is not necessarily related to religious beliefs, has paved the way for other ways to seek emotional health such as reiki, yoga, transcendental meditation and acupuncture. All of them have generated a huge market of consumers who pay for face-to-face or online classes, sessions in healing centers, training courses and materials or accessories related to the practice.
If we focus on the market of yoga practitioners, they have at their disposal special mats and mats for their practice, non-slip socks, clothing, cushions, blocks, straps, among many other products. For this reason, brands such as Adidas, Fila, Puma or Reebok have been interested in this segment which, according to the study carried out by Expert Reports, had a market value of 105.9 billion dollars in 2022. And it is expected to reach 177.6 billion dollars in 2028.
audiovisual spirituality
The movie industry has been no stranger to expectations of spirituality. The movie Eat Pray Lovewhich is about its protagonist’s journey of self-discovery, grossed more than $200 million at the box office.
on the platforms of streaming You can find a wide variety of titles on spiritual topics: from the use of ayahuasca as a means to liberate the spirit to mystical pilgrimages in search of self-knowledge. strings like For better or worse) and goop labwith Gwyneth Paltrow, document the wellness industry, showing different techniques – mostly with mystical aspects – that people resort to in search of physical and emotional health.
The 2011 Chilean film god free me is a satirical comedy of what is known as religious broadcasting.
Virtually all religious doctrines have used this form of communication. However, the new mystical beliefs have made a business of technology, with programs to help their members through apps and support phone calls but paid.
Tourist and religious experience
One of the religious destinations that is an example of success in terms of tourism product and marketing is the Camino de Santiago, an ancient Christian pilgrimage route to visit the tomb of the apostle of the same name in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, in the northwest of Spain.
Today not all who walk the path do so because of their beliefs. According to the official Pilgrim Reception Office website, only 45% of those who have traveled so far in 2023 have done so for purely religious reasons. The success of the route is such that it attracts tourists from 165 countries.
To plan the pilgrimage, in addition to travel agencies, there are digital portals where you can schedule each stage and book accommodation for the entire route. There is even a website that offers a virtual version of the pilgrimage. He Camino de Santiago Virtual Challenge It has 772 kilometers and each participant decides the time in which they will cover them. Upon payment, those who complete all the stages in the stipulated time receive a medal in recognition of their pilgrimage.
Rogelio Martínez Cárdenas, Research Professor of the Department of Organizational Studies, specialist in religious tourism and accessible tourism, University of Guadalajara
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original.