Pilgrimage Tourism in India: Socio-economic Analysis

People in general and pilgrims in particular go on pilgrimages to temples mosques churches gurudwaras for worshipping their religious gods and goddesses. But tourism and pilgrimage are intertwined with little differences. India is a land of temples mosques and churches. Pilgrimage is aimed to attain moksha - the ultimate aim of individual. Moreover pilgrimage tourism is considered as an instrument of stress relief and it is one of the most understudied and least researched areas in tourism and leisure economics. With this backdrop the book “Pilgrimage Tourism -Socio-economic analysis” is initiated with the following objectives viz: to examine socio-economic cultural and environmental profiles of pilgrim tourists and local residents of Palani town and temple environs; to identify factors determining pilgrimage tourism and to examine perceptions of pilgrims on the socio-economic overheads facilities and services that exist at Palani town and temple environs; to gauge the perceptions of local residents on social economic cultural and environmental impacts of pilgrim­age tourism to Palani town and temple environs; and to identify problems emerg­ing from pilgrimage tourism and economic changes to local residents and to make suggestions for policy for pilgrimage tourism benefiting both the pilgrims and the local residents of Palani town and temple environs.