TEHRAN - The fifth International Conference on Tourism and Spirituality will be held on May 20 at the University of Science and Culture, bringing together Iranian and foreign scholars to discuss the role of spirituality in modern tourism, organizers said. The conference is being organized through cooperation among researchers and academics from several Iranian universities, according to conference officials.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Mohammad-Hossein Imani-Khoshkhou, president of the university and secretary of the conference, said the event would examine the relationship between tourism, spirituality and contemporary social challenges.

Imani-Khoshkhou said modern societies were increasingly facing psychological and social pressures as material concerns overshadowed spiritual aspects of life.

He said the tourism industry, because of its broad social and cultural reach, offered opportunities to address those concerns through experiences that go beyond physical travel and recreation.

“The issue is not limited to religious or pilgrimage tourism,” he said in the statement. “Different forms of travel, including mass tourism and business tourism, can also create opportunities for travelers to engage with deeper philosophical and personal reflections during their journeys.”

He added that tourism could provide what he described as “a return to origins” and a means of coping with social and psychological pressures associated with industrialized and urban life.

According to the statement, the conference will focus on how spiritual dimensions can be incorporated into different tourism sectors and how travel experiences may contribute to personal well-being and social balance.

Imani-Khoshkhou said tourism had increasingly become shaped by material expectations and commercial considerations in recent decades, while the original motivations behind travel had received less attention.

He said growing interest in spirituality and meaning among travelers could contribute to restoring what he called the “main nature” of tourism.

The statement also referred to studies in psychology, medicine, management, marketing and economics that have examined the relationship between spirituality and tourism.

According to the organizers, many of those studies explore the interaction between religious perspectives and modern material approaches to travel and lifestyle.

The conference will include presentations and discussions by domestic and international academics specializing in tourism studies, cultural heritage, spirituality and related disciplines.

Organizers said the subject of spirituality in tourism has received limited attention in international conferences despite its expanding role in academic research and tourism planning.

Iran has sought in recent years to promote different forms of tourism, including cultural, religious and heritage tourism, as part of broader efforts to diversify its tourism sector.

Religious tourism remains one of the oldest forms of travel and continues to attract visitors to places of worship and pilgrimage sites around the world.
    
Iran is home to a range of religious and cultural destinations that attract domestic and foreign travelers. These include shrines, mosques, monasteries and historical religious centers located in cities and rural areas across the country.

From mountain sanctuaries to urban religious complexes, many of Iran’s worship sites are visited annually by pilgrims and tourists seeking spiritual experiences alongside cultural and historical attractions.

AM