Tourism Marketing Mix Applied for Inclusive Spiritual Tourists in Pakistan and Australia

Abstract

Purpose: The paper displays an exploratory research on marketing of spiritual tourism in Australia and Pakistan. The main objective of this research is to explain spiritual tourism and present elements of marketing mix for attracting spiritual tourists with inclusive attitude. The paper describes spiritual travellers with inclusivity going on journeys for spiritual enhancement and veneration for divine places of other faiths considered as holy sites. Methodology: A qualitative study constructed on face-to-face interviews with tourists qualified as spiritual travellers was managed in selected Australian and Pakistani locations. The discussion notes were screened through theme-based assessment searching for ideas and themes surfacing from interviews aligned with elements of the marketing strategy. Results: This study resulted in acknowledging people, pricing and products as vital elements of tourism marketing complementing the spiritual tourism marketing strategy design and implementation. Conclusions: This study concludes with an inclusive spiritual tourism model indicating people, pricing and products to be embraced by tourism providers to enhance their marketing outcomes. This paper accomplishes by offering the recommendation for Pakistan’s tourism administration to market holy and blessed places linked with different faiths following the branding theme of “spiritual tourism”. Future Direction: Tourism marketing mix based on people, pricing and products, could be analysed by a quantitative research testing inclusivity based behaviour of spiritual travellers. Originality: The unique and primary study handled the threat of disinclination of tourists expressing their personal religious opinions through private meetings and face-to-face discussions.