Religious Pilgrimage Routes and Trails : Sustainable Development and Management

Dr Daniel H. Olsen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA. His research interests revolve around religious and spiritual tourism, heritage tourism, and the management of sacred sites, with secondary research interests in tourism in peripheral areas and tourism and disabilities. He is co-editor of Religion, Tourism, and Spiritual Journeys (Routledge, 2006) and Religious Pilgrimage Routes and Trails (CABI, 2018), and has published over 40 journal articles and book chapters.

Since 2009, Dr. Darius Liutikas has been a senior scientific researcher at the Lithuanian Social Research Centre (Vilnius). Research interests include modern and traditional pilgrimage, sociology of tourism, anthropology of tourism, various forms of mobility, cultural tourism, sacred places and sacred spaces, and the geography of religions. Darius Liutikas accomplished PhD studies in 2008 at Vilnius University. PhD thesis: „Traditional and modern pilgrimage as expression of values and identity in Lithuanian society". The author's monograph about the manifestation of values and identity in the journeys was published in 2009 (in the Lithuanian language). He received the Grant for the Best Youth Scientist of Lithuania in the humanitarian and social fields in 2010 (Order No. 23 of 1 June 2010 of the Presidium of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences). Since 2008, he has published more than 30 articles in Lithuanian and international academic journals. He has prepared and published 5 books (3 in the Lithuanian language and 2 in English). He participated in more than 40 international scientific conferences as a guest speaker or speaker. In 2013, he received the best paper award at the International Conference on Religious Tourism and Tolerance in Konya, Turkey. Darius Liutikas is member of the editorial boards of the journal Creativity Studies (member of the editorial board since 2014), International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage (member of the editorial board since 2015), International Journal of Research in Sociology and Anthropology (member of the editorial board since 2015). He is the chairman of the Community of Lithuanian Pilgrims (www.piligrimai.lt). He has initiated and coordinated different projects on pilgrimage and religious tourism. He has been the project coordinator of various books, as well as the project coordinator on the DVD Pilgrimage Places in Lithuania (In 2012, 55 min. in Lithuanian language. Subtitles in English, Polish and Italian), and the project coordinator for the biennial show-contest of Lithuanian woodsmen sculptures Saints and Pilgrims (since 2009).

Dr Kiran Shinde teaches in the Planning program at La Trobe University, Australia. He does research in the field of religious tourism, and has published about 50 research articles relating to cultural heritage, religious tourism, policy analysis, and destination planning and management. His papers have appeared in high-ranking journals, including Urban Studies, Current Issues in Tourism, International Journal of Tourism Research, GeoForum, and Space and Culture. He has also contributed chapters in books published Elsevier, Routledge, SUNY Press, and CABI. He has presented research papers at conferences in Canada, Turkey, Australia, Portugal, Singapore, the UK, and the USA. He was invited by the UNWTO to contribute to the Bethlehem Charter on Religious Tourism. He is also on the editorial board of the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage. Recently, he completed a UNWTO report on Buddhist tourism in Asia. He holds a PhD from Monash University, Australia, an MSc from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand), and an M.Tech from CEPT University, India

Dr.Kevin Griffin Bed, MA, PhD. Having studied teaching then tourism organisation and historic settlement I worked in a number of Geography Departments in the Dublin / Kildare area. Since 2001 I have worked at the DIT where I am actively involved in teaching and researching a broad range of tourism topics with particular specialism in both heritage and sustainable tourism. Editor in Chief, International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Editor in Chief, International Journal of Tour Guiding Research Editor in Chief, International Journal of Islands Research Series Editor, CABI Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Book Series Research Interests My main areas of academic interest include: * Tourism and Sustainability / Environmental Issues * Heritage Tourism * Religious Tourism / Pilgrimage * Social Tourism * Teaching Methodologies and Tourism * Local History / Heritage

Dr Razaq Raj is Principal Lecturer in the Leeds Business School. His research interests include community events, outdoor events, economic impacts, religious tourism, cultural festivals and sustainable tourism, cultural diversity in events management and international tourism. Dr Razaq Raj is the author of the textbooks Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: An International Perspective, Event Management: An integrated and practical approach and Event Management and Sustainability. Dr Razaq Raj is also a board member of international journals and academic associations. Editor of International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Editor of International Journal of Islands Research Editor of International Journal of Islamic Tourism Series Editor, CABI Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Book Series