Abstract
Spiritual values are affected by diverse factors with different roles and influence daily life in various ways. Using Mount Jiuhua and Mount Putuo, two mountains in Mainland China with great importance in Buddhism, as examples, this study explores the specific dimensions of religious visitors’ spiritual values. Through a survey study, five factors of these spiritual values were extracted and their relative importance was measured. The identified factors were transcendence, general connectedness, inner balance, positive life direction and special religious feelings. According to factor importance analysis, these spiritual values can be categorised into three levels: fundamental, reflective and surpassing. This study theoretically contributes to the literature by identifying the religious visitors’ spiritual values and measuring their relative importance in the Buddhist tourism context. Additionally, this study has practical implications for improving the religious visitors’ experiences and the sustainable development of religious tourism destinations.
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Recommended Citation
Wang, Zhiqing; huang, keji; zhang, jiankang; Fan, Yunyun; and Zhang, Ge
(2026)
"Religious Visitors’ Spiritual Values and their Relative Importance: Evidence from Chinese Buddhist Tourism Contexts,"
International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage:
Vol. 14:
Iss.
3, Article 10.
Available at:
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol14/iss3/10