Religious Tourism and Globalization The Search for Identity and Transformative Experience

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 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

- Dr. Sílvia Aulet Serrallonga is a professor at the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Girona teaching in the Degree of Tourism and in the Master of Cultural Tourism. Her PhD dissertation was the first in Spain to address the subject of religious tourism. Her research line is cultural tourism, from its conceptualization to its management. In this field her focus is twofold: pilgrimage and religious tourism and gastronomy tourism. She is member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal on Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage. She is also part of the Unitwin UNESCO Chair "Culture Tourism and Development. She has carried several research projects both in the university and as a consultant. She has recently participated in several national and European projects, notably in SPIRIT-Youth (related to the creation of a spiritual tourism proposal trough Europe for young people). Currently she cooperates with different institutions related to religious tourism, such as Montserrat Monastery, organizing courses and seminars to enhance the performance of tourism stakeholders in sacred spaces.

Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D. is a lecturer in the Departments of Political Science and Global Studies at California State University, San Marcos, and in the Department of International Business at Kedge Business School. His research interests mainly revolve around global issues, including geopolitics, religious tourism and pilgrimage, religion and politics, comparative political economy, and pedagogy in political science. He has published in several journals, including Academy of International Business (AIB) Insights, Politics & Religion, the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, and numerous book chapters.

Nour Farra-Haddad is a senior researcher, a tourism consultant, an author and she teaches at St-Josef University of Beirut (Lebanon) and at the American University of Science and Technology. She has experience in development and management with a strong business consultancy background and in-depth experience in the Middle East tourism industry. She is a specialist in pilgrimages and religious tourism. She is now managing her own travel consultancy company NEOS. Her credentials include a PhD in religious anthropology, a Masters in anthropology and two BSc degrees in archeology and anthropology. She holds a tourist guide diploma from the Ministry of Tourism and was designated as Vice President of the Lebanese Tour Guides Syndicate. She is also a founding member of the Association for the Development of Pilgrimages and Religious Tourism affiliated to the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke.