Religious tourism and its impact on tourist behavior in the Holy Najaf Governorate

Abstract

The current study aims mainly to test the extent of the impact of religious tourism on tourist behavior by searching for the knowledge gap and trying as much as possible to reduce or bridge it to explain the nature of the relationship between the variables, as religious tourism was adopted by removing it as an independent variable, and the tourist’s behavior by removing it as a dependent variable. Tourism is considered one of the vital economic fields for many countries, whether developed or developing, and the individual plays the largest role in it through his continuous awareness stemming from a tourism culture based primarily on the necessity of constantly attracting tourists. The tourism heritage and the state’s capabilities and tourist sites also play the primary factor in attracting a large number Of tourists. Tourist behavior is “that behavior that results from the tourist as a result of his exposure to an internal or external stimulus in searching, purchasing, and using tourist goods that he expects will satisfy his needs and fulfill his desires according to the available purchasing capabilities, effort, money, and time. Accordingly, the tourist’s behavior may differ depending on its characteristics and types. Tourism is considered It is one of the vital economic fields for many countries, whether developed or developing, and the individual plays the largest role in it through his continuous awareness stemming from a tourism culture based primarily on the necessity of constantly attracting tourists. The tourism heritage and the state’s capabilities and tourist sites also play the primary factor in attracting a large number of tourists. In recent years, researchers have greatly increased their interest in studying tourist behavior in supporting religious tourism, which is nothing more than human behavior similar to consumer behavior, which is affected by a group of factors and pressures that affect it, whether these factors are internal, external, or marketing, which makes the process of prediction and interpretation possible. Behavior and how to make a purchasing decision for a specific commodity or tourist or hotel service in a specific destination are extremely complex issues due to the overlapping and intertwining of these factors, and this is what makes the tourist look at the tourism product with more than one look and idea in order to get what he wants in the face of the multiple variables in the pattern. Tourism, which often directs the tourist's behavior and attracts him to it. Studies have focused a lot on religious tourism because it is an important foundation for the success of tourism development, and it is linked to important and various factors that are affected and influenced by it. The determinants of tourist behavior are considered one of the most important factors related to choosing religious tourism, so in this study the role of tourist behavior in supporting religious tourism will be examined.