Religious Tourism in Portugal: the Case of Nossa Senhora da Lapa Shrine

Abstract

Since the Portuguese are predominately Roman Catholic, religious tourism has a great potential to contribute to tourism development in several regions of the country. Religious tourism in Portugal is extremely rich and diverse and integrates several organized and well known routes (e.g. The Way of St. James and Ways of Fátima), a variety of religious festivities, sacred heritage, Jewish legacy and famous religious shrines. Among them, the Nossa Senhora da Lapa Shrine should be distinguished since it is one of the oldest in Europe. In fact, during the Medieval Period, the Lapa Shrine and the Santiago Shrine (in Spain) were the most important pilgrimage sites on the Iberian Peninsula. However, over time the Lapa shrine has been forgotten and its development has been far below expectations. The aim of this study is to examine the importance of religious tourism in the economic development of a small community (Lapa) and identify the most important aspects when visiting a shrine. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed and applied between October and November of 2014 to the visitors of the Lapa Shrine. A total of 250 responses were obtained. The results reveal that the majority of the respondents consider religious tourism very important to local development. The most important factors when visiting a Shrine are the existent monuments, cleanliness, the existence of museums and exhibition rooms, the religious festivities that occur there and having restaurants in the surroundings. It should also be noted that over 94% of the respondents consider the Lapa Shrine an attractive religious tourism site. Thus, religious tourism could be a great opportunity to strengthen local economy. Accordingly, the Lapa Shrine should be considered as an anchor for the region’s tourism development.