Travel colleges recognizing growth of religious tourism:
http://www.firststoponlinedegree.com/articles/faithbased-international-travel-sector.php
Faith-based International Travel Sector
March 23, 2007by J.V. StaplesFirst Stop Online Degree ColumnistThe faith-based international travel sector is flourishing. More and more consumers are choosing to take a retreat or pilgrimage, spelling billions in profits for the industry. How has faith-based travel changed business?
Travel in ParadiseAccording to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the faith-based travel industry is one of the hottest growing travel sectors, bringing in some serious cash. The International Conference on Religious Tourism estimates the faith-based travel industry to be worth about $18 billion. A survey conducted by the Travel Industry Association of America in 2006 found that one in four travelers are presently interested in taking a spiritual vacation such as a retreat or pilgrimage. The pilgrim-soul apparently crosses generations, with about a third of each age group reporting a desire to go on a religious holiday.
Stepping Out in FaithIn response to the recent growth of the faith-based travel industry, two of the sector's authorities have launched the World Religious Travel Association. Kevin J. Wright (President, Religious Market Consulting Group) and Honnie Korngold (President, Christian Travel Finder) have created the organization to advise the worldwide travel industry in approaching the North American religious consumer, to build faith-based vacation and travel opportunities for them, and to connect them with the worldwide travel industry.
Tourism Degree Programs and Online DegreesThe travel industry is constantly changing, with niche markets opening up and evolving, and you'll need more than faith to get a travel agent job. A tourism degree will get you on the road to a career in international travel. You might have a degree program available at one of your local colleges. But, better yet, with an online degree, you can head off on your own-whether on a serious pilgrimage or a take-it-easy beach holiday--while enrolled in your degree program. Source:
$18 Billion Religious Travel Industry Gives Birth to International AssociationAuthor:J.V. Staples is a writer and teacher living on the southeast coast of Ireland. He has worked as a graphic designer; teacher of English as a foreign language; university writing instructor; and editor of Salt Hill, a literary magazine. John holds an honors BA in English from the University of Georgia and a Masters in creative writing from Syracuse University.
April 7, 2007
Hotels recognizing growth of Religious Market
The emiment hotel and lodging magazine of LODGING HOSPITALITY recently covered the growth of religious travel and the World Religious Travel Association.
Traveling With Faith
Faithbased travel is on the rise
The growth of travel and of faith have led to formation of the World Religious Travel Association, a Colorado-based group that aims to foster faith-based travel worldwide. Launched at the end of January by Kevin J. Wright and Honnie Korngold, WRTA aims to leverage an industry that travel-trade veteran Wright says is maturing rapidly for three reasons:
"The first is that in the last 10 years, we've seen an increase of about 45 percent of Americans traveling overseas," he says. Equally important: a U.S. population increase in people of faith in the last 10 years, when, Wright claims, "the Christian faith has grown by 10 million people," in proportion to an overall increase in the country's population.
Accompanying these signifiers is evidence that in the last 10 to 20 years, "people of faith are spending money on products relating to their faith," such as pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Outward Bound gatherings or fellowship travel. He also points to growth in religious-based publishing and cinema.
He and Christian-event marketer Korngold founded WRTA to help the travel trade expand its presence in the religious market, help the faith-based travel consumer learn about applicable travel opportunities and connect the two groups.
Dues range from complimentary to $10,000 for an executive membership for, say, a cruise line. The association is actively recruiting its dozen charter members and, Wright says, is in discussion with "one major hotel chain to become the representative charter member for the lodging industry."
Did the idea for this association come to him as a revelation? No, he says, suggesting it was more a culmination. A graduate of Washington State University in Pullman, WA, Wright has written several books about faith-based travel. In 2004, when he was working for Globus in Denver, he persuaded the tour operator to launch a religious travel division.
"Now, there's really a demand for an association because religious travel is no longer a niche," Wright says. "It is an industry."
LH Staff editor@lhonline.com
Traveling With Faith
Faithbased travel is on the rise
The growth of travel and of faith have led to formation of the World Religious Travel Association, a Colorado-based group that aims to foster faith-based travel worldwide. Launched at the end of January by Kevin J. Wright and Honnie Korngold, WRTA aims to leverage an industry that travel-trade veteran Wright says is maturing rapidly for three reasons:
"The first is that in the last 10 years, we've seen an increase of about 45 percent of Americans traveling overseas," he says. Equally important: a U.S. population increase in people of faith in the last 10 years, when, Wright claims, "the Christian faith has grown by 10 million people," in proportion to an overall increase in the country's population.
Accompanying these signifiers is evidence that in the last 10 to 20 years, "people of faith are spending money on products relating to their faith," such as pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Outward Bound gatherings or fellowship travel. He also points to growth in religious-based publishing and cinema.
He and Christian-event marketer Korngold founded WRTA to help the travel trade expand its presence in the religious market, help the faith-based travel consumer learn about applicable travel opportunities and connect the two groups.
Dues range from complimentary to $10,000 for an executive membership for, say, a cruise line. The association is actively recruiting its dozen charter members and, Wright says, is in discussion with "one major hotel chain to become the representative charter member for the lodging industry."
Did the idea for this association come to him as a revelation? No, he says, suggesting it was more a culmination. A graduate of Washington State University in Pullman, WA, Wright has written several books about faith-based travel. In 2004, when he was working for Globus in Denver, he persuaded the tour operator to launch a religious travel division.
"Now, there's really a demand for an association because religious travel is no longer a niche," Wright says. "It is an industry."
LH Staff editor@lhonline.com
Faith-based Cruising
The LA DAILY recently covered the fast-growing segment of Christian and faith-based cruising:
http://www.dailynews.com/business/ci_5514668
Holy seas
Christians convert cruise ships
BARBARA CORREA, Staff writerLA Daily News
Article Last Updated:03/24/2007 05:44:29 PM PDT
Imagine a cruise to Alaska where the casino is converted into a Christian bookstore, the bars serve orange juice but no vodka, and the Vegas-style entertainers are replaced with G-rated comedians and preachers.
Forget the Love Boat. Think Love Thy Neighbor.
Special interests have long taken to the high seas to pursue their passions with like-minded travelers. There are cruises for chocolate lovers, clothing-optional groups, Trekkies, craft enthusiasts and gays and lesbians.
But Christian cruises change the traditional cruise experience more fundamentally than any other niche.
Dry and dark
Responding to demand, cruise promoters are increasingly chartering entire 3,000-bed cruise ships for Christian passengers so they can control the environment onboard. That means more ships are sailing with "darkened" casinos and the bars serve nonalcoholic beverages.
"The great thing with the Christian market is the ability to take a typical Carnival cruise and change that to a Christian theme," said Cherie Weinstein, vice president of group sales and administration at Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise operator.
"They will shut down the casinos, remove all liquor from the bars, or at least move it from display."
They can also make sure showgirls cover up racy outfits and swap out naughty comedians for clean comics. Weinstein said full-ship charters cost more because of lost revenue from the casinos and bars.
But Carnival works with the cruise promoters to make up the losses elsewhere, with sales of books and audio tapes, for example. Full-ship charters still represent a small slice of the overall cruise business, but it's a desirable slice.
"It's a very important portion because it's volume business," said Weinstein.
Most Christian cruises sail out of ports in Florida or the Gulf Coast. But rising demand in California and the Southwest is prompting cruise companies to consider more excursions to Mexico from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, said Lisa Mann of All Christian Cruises, based in Roswell, Ga.
Even when Christian cruise promoters share the ship with other groups or individuals, they tend to do things in a way that stands out. Premier Christian Cruises' Girl's Get-A-Way weekend trip to Cozumel, Mexico, offers morning worship services and a fashion show by Christi's Pure Fashion, a Glendale, Ohio, company that makes modest clothing that encourages women to celebrate their "authentic beauty."
Pilgrimage to leisure
Historically, religious travel has fallen under the category of either educational tours to the Holy Land or mission trips to evangelize and do outreach in disadvantaged areas. But the rise of Christian marketing has resulted in busy religious families looking for a way to relax and maybe worship at the same time.
"There has been a generational change," said David Meier, a Baptist minister in Texas who started International Travel & Tour Consultants 38 years ago.
The company still arranges educational trips to Israel, Egypt and Greece, following in the footsteps of St. Paul. But not as many as it used to.
"There was a time when there was a very heavy demand. There aren't as many people traveling now for that; it's more for leisure and relaxation."
Kevin Wright, a religious market consultant and co-founder of the World Religious Travel Association, said that in the past decade, the religious travel model has shifted from groups traveling to a religious destination with a religious intent to religious people looking for fun and friendship.
The Christian cruise offers a tempting package. For about $599 for a four-night, five-day cruise, travelers of faith can take a real vacation along with some religious enrichment.
Tours to the Holy Land start at about $1,300, not including airfare, said Honnie Korngold, president of Christian Travel Finder, an agency in Sunset Beach.
"It's one thing to fly your family down to Florida and go to the Bahamas and back," said John Sanders, a co-founder of Premier Christian Cruises and vocalist for the Christian band, Brother's Keeper. "It's another thing to take them through other countries and through a dangerous environment."
In the same boat
Family-themed cruises like Premier's "VeggieTales & Friends Cruise" and singles trips are popular subsets of the Christian cruise niche.
Tom Harris, a 52-year-old minister from San Diego, just finished a one-week singles cruise out of Fort Lauderdale to Key West, Cozumel and Belize.
"It's lonely to travel if you're single," he said. "I've been on trips with two or three friends, but it sounded thrilling to be with a group in my age bracket that I might have faith in common with."
He said he didn't meet a significant other on the trip, but he did make some great friends and is already planning his next Christian cruise. Harris' cruise was not a full-ship charter, so he was rubbing shoulders with plenty of non-Christians and made friends with a Jewish couple.
In a show of brotherly love, most tour operators say sharing the whole ship with the larger cruise population - gambling, alcohol, and all - is no problem.
Lorilee Scott's Matter of the Heart Ministries organizes cruises for Christian singles who share space with non-Christians.
"If people say they can't be where there's alcohol, I say this is not the cruise for you. I'm a Southern Baptist, but I know that Jesus drank wine, not grape juice."
She said she wouldn't serve drinks at a Christian-related seminar, and if someone showed up in a bikini, she might ask them to cover up. But there's never a problem, she said.
Her travelers get along great with everyone, she said, because they are not judgmental.
Not just the religion
Indeed, most Christian cruises are organized along secular lines with plenty of music, sporting contests, dancing and other features of standard cruises.
Some of the most popular are floating music festivals, headlined by superstars from the contemporary Christian music world. Christian illusionists and even Christian wrestlers are onboard as well.
Retired Army veteran Ken Bachini and his wife, Michelle, have been on two cruises with artists from K-Love, a contemporary Christian radio network, and they have already signed up for their third this year.
Bachini said he likes being surrounded by music he is already familiar with, and that the Christian environment makes him feel more comfortable traveling with his children.
"The people are so friendly. There's not a lot of vulgar language going on, \ you feel fine having your kids on the boat," said Bachini, who has done both Christian and secular cruises. "You tend to see more rudeness on the non-Christian cruises. The way people are treating one another, it is night and day."
Travel agents and cruise operators say they are girding for even more growth. Effective Jan. 1, 2008, all cruise passengers will be required to have passports to travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. (Similar passport rules went into effect for air travelers in January.)
"Travel is a very new frontier for Christians," said Honnie Korngold. "I would say 75 percent of our Mexico cruise had never been on a cruise before. ... With the new passport laws, it will be easier for them to think about traveling abroad."
Skeptic's view
Not everyone is convinced, however, about the new religious travel model. Ronen Paldi, president of Ya'lla Tours, a Portland, Ore., agency that specializes in tours to biblical lands, agrees that the demographic of faith-based travel is changing.
But he doesn't think Christian cruises are where the growth will continue to be. "The cruise is very interesting," he said. "But I think we are reaching its peak right now. What will continue to grow is people going for the real thing and seeing the real sites."
barbara.correa@dailynews.com
(818) 713-3662
http://www.dailynews.com/business/ci_5514668
Holy seas
Christians convert cruise ships
BARBARA CORREA, Staff writerLA Daily News
Article Last Updated:03/24/2007 05:44:29 PM PDT
Imagine a cruise to Alaska where the casino is converted into a Christian bookstore, the bars serve orange juice but no vodka, and the Vegas-style entertainers are replaced with G-rated comedians and preachers.
Forget the Love Boat. Think Love Thy Neighbor.
Special interests have long taken to the high seas to pursue their passions with like-minded travelers. There are cruises for chocolate lovers, clothing-optional groups, Trekkies, craft enthusiasts and gays and lesbians.
But Christian cruises change the traditional cruise experience more fundamentally than any other niche.
Dry and dark
Responding to demand, cruise promoters are increasingly chartering entire 3,000-bed cruise ships for Christian passengers so they can control the environment onboard. That means more ships are sailing with "darkened" casinos and the bars serve nonalcoholic beverages.
"The great thing with the Christian market is the ability to take a typical Carnival cruise and change that to a Christian theme," said Cherie Weinstein, vice president of group sales and administration at Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise operator.
"They will shut down the casinos, remove all liquor from the bars, or at least move it from display."
They can also make sure showgirls cover up racy outfits and swap out naughty comedians for clean comics. Weinstein said full-ship charters cost more because of lost revenue from the casinos and bars.
But Carnival works with the cruise promoters to make up the losses elsewhere, with sales of books and audio tapes, for example. Full-ship charters still represent a small slice of the overall cruise business, but it's a desirable slice.
"It's a very important portion because it's volume business," said Weinstein.
Most Christian cruises sail out of ports in Florida or the Gulf Coast. But rising demand in California and the Southwest is prompting cruise companies to consider more excursions to Mexico from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, said Lisa Mann of All Christian Cruises, based in Roswell, Ga.
Even when Christian cruise promoters share the ship with other groups or individuals, they tend to do things in a way that stands out. Premier Christian Cruises' Girl's Get-A-Way weekend trip to Cozumel, Mexico, offers morning worship services and a fashion show by Christi's Pure Fashion, a Glendale, Ohio, company that makes modest clothing that encourages women to celebrate their "authentic beauty."
Pilgrimage to leisure
Historically, religious travel has fallen under the category of either educational tours to the Holy Land or mission trips to evangelize and do outreach in disadvantaged areas. But the rise of Christian marketing has resulted in busy religious families looking for a way to relax and maybe worship at the same time.
"There has been a generational change," said David Meier, a Baptist minister in Texas who started International Travel & Tour Consultants 38 years ago.
The company still arranges educational trips to Israel, Egypt and Greece, following in the footsteps of St. Paul. But not as many as it used to.
"There was a time when there was a very heavy demand. There aren't as many people traveling now for that; it's more for leisure and relaxation."
Kevin Wright, a religious market consultant and co-founder of the World Religious Travel Association, said that in the past decade, the religious travel model has shifted from groups traveling to a religious destination with a religious intent to religious people looking for fun and friendship.
The Christian cruise offers a tempting package. For about $599 for a four-night, five-day cruise, travelers of faith can take a real vacation along with some religious enrichment.
Tours to the Holy Land start at about $1,300, not including airfare, said Honnie Korngold, president of Christian Travel Finder, an agency in Sunset Beach.
"It's one thing to fly your family down to Florida and go to the Bahamas and back," said John Sanders, a co-founder of Premier Christian Cruises and vocalist for the Christian band, Brother's Keeper. "It's another thing to take them through other countries and through a dangerous environment."
In the same boat
Family-themed cruises like Premier's "VeggieTales & Friends Cruise" and singles trips are popular subsets of the Christian cruise niche.
Tom Harris, a 52-year-old minister from San Diego, just finished a one-week singles cruise out of Fort Lauderdale to Key West, Cozumel and Belize.
"It's lonely to travel if you're single," he said. "I've been on trips with two or three friends, but it sounded thrilling to be with a group in my age bracket that I might have faith in common with."
He said he didn't meet a significant other on the trip, but he did make some great friends and is already planning his next Christian cruise. Harris' cruise was not a full-ship charter, so he was rubbing shoulders with plenty of non-Christians and made friends with a Jewish couple.
In a show of brotherly love, most tour operators say sharing the whole ship with the larger cruise population - gambling, alcohol, and all - is no problem.
Lorilee Scott's Matter of the Heart Ministries organizes cruises for Christian singles who share space with non-Christians.
"If people say they can't be where there's alcohol, I say this is not the cruise for you. I'm a Southern Baptist, but I know that Jesus drank wine, not grape juice."
She said she wouldn't serve drinks at a Christian-related seminar, and if someone showed up in a bikini, she might ask them to cover up. But there's never a problem, she said.
Her travelers get along great with everyone, she said, because they are not judgmental.
Not just the religion
Indeed, most Christian cruises are organized along secular lines with plenty of music, sporting contests, dancing and other features of standard cruises.
Some of the most popular are floating music festivals, headlined by superstars from the contemporary Christian music world. Christian illusionists and even Christian wrestlers are onboard as well.
Retired Army veteran Ken Bachini and his wife, Michelle, have been on two cruises with artists from K-Love, a contemporary Christian radio network, and they have already signed up for their third this year.
Bachini said he likes being surrounded by music he is already familiar with, and that the Christian environment makes him feel more comfortable traveling with his children.
"The people are so friendly. There's not a lot of vulgar language going on, \ you feel fine having your kids on the boat," said Bachini, who has done both Christian and secular cruises. "You tend to see more rudeness on the non-Christian cruises. The way people are treating one another, it is night and day."
Travel agents and cruise operators say they are girding for even more growth. Effective Jan. 1, 2008, all cruise passengers will be required to have passports to travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. (Similar passport rules went into effect for air travelers in January.)
"Travel is a very new frontier for Christians," said Honnie Korngold. "I would say 75 percent of our Mexico cruise had never been on a cruise before. ... With the new passport laws, it will be easier for them to think about traveling abroad."
Skeptic's view
Not everyone is convinced, however, about the new religious travel model. Ronen Paldi, president of Ya'lla Tours, a Portland, Ore., agency that specializes in tours to biblical lands, agrees that the demographic of faith-based travel is changing.
But he doesn't think Christian cruises are where the growth will continue to be. "The cruise is very interesting," he said. "But I think we are reaching its peak right now. What will continue to grow is people going for the real thing and seeing the real sites."
barbara.correa@dailynews.com
(818) 713-3662
March 10, 2007
Free Cruise Giveaway
Any faith-based traveler that applies for membership with the World Religious Travel Association at www.religioustravelassociation.com between March and September of 2007 will be entered to win a free cruise.
To apply visit http://www.religioustravelassociation.com/free_cruise.pdf
To apply visit http://www.religioustravelassociation.com/free_cruise.pdf
March 5, 2007
On-line directory debuts at WRTA
The World Religious Travel Association just debuted its new on-line directories at www.religioustravelassociation.com, providing the most comprehensive listing of tour operators, cruise lines, travel agencies, hotels, transportation companies, etc., for the faith-based traveler and religious travel groups.
February 25, 2007
Beliefnet.com reports on Religious Travel Market
Beliefnet.com, one of the largest faith-based websites on the Internet, reported this past week on growing size and clout of the Religious Travel Market.
To view the article visit:
http://www.mlive.com/business/grpress/index.ssf?/base/business-4/117117975184660.xml&coll=6&thispage=5
To view the article visit:
http://www.mlive.com/business/grpress/index.ssf?/base/business-4/117117975184660.xml&coll=6&thispage=5
February 17, 2007
WRTA new members
We welcome a few of our newest members to the World Religious Travel Association:
* Kenya Airways (www.kenyaair.net): Provides air service to Africa for missionary travel and leisure travel; known for its award-winning service, Kenya Airways operates more transcontinental flights than any other African airline.
* 7TURkey Parner (www.7tur.com): Provides ground operator services and escorted tours in Turkey (religious tours, leisure vacations, business travel, etc.) for tour operators, travel agencies, and groups.
* World Mission Tours (www.womito.com): Since 1963, World Missions Tours has specialized in Christian travel, providing churches, missions boards, district offices and colleges with group travel.
* Holiday Travel (www.gowithholidaytravel.com): Travel agency specializing in a variety of vacations including religious
* Zealandier Tours of New Zealand (www.zealandier.co.nz): New Zealand-based Christian ground operator and travel company specializing in fully Escorted Christian trips and vacations to New Zealand. Provides services for tour operators, travel companies, and Christian groups.
* Arab Agency Travel & Tourism (970 2 2741872): Family-owned business based in Bethlehem operating as a travel agent in the Holy Land covering Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
* Kenya Airways (www.kenyaair.net): Provides air service to Africa for missionary travel and leisure travel; known for its award-winning service, Kenya Airways operates more transcontinental flights than any other African airline.
* 7TURkey Parner (www.7tur.com): Provides ground operator services and escorted tours in Turkey (religious tours, leisure vacations, business travel, etc.) for tour operators, travel agencies, and groups.
* World Mission Tours (www.womito.com): Since 1963, World Missions Tours has specialized in Christian travel, providing churches, missions boards, district offices and colleges with group travel.
* Holiday Travel (www.gowithholidaytravel.com): Travel agency specializing in a variety of vacations including religious
* Zealandier Tours of New Zealand (www.zealandier.co.nz): New Zealand-based Christian ground operator and travel company specializing in fully Escorted Christian trips and vacations to New Zealand. Provides services for tour operators, travel companies, and Christian groups.
* Arab Agency Travel & Tourism (970 2 2741872): Family-owned business based in Bethlehem operating as a travel agent in the Holy Land covering Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Denver Business Journal (World Religious Travel Association)
Here's an article that appeared this week in the Denver Business Journal about the growth of religious tourism and the launch of the World Religious Travel Association......
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2007/02/19/story13.html
Travel industry veteran taps into faith-based niche
The Denver Business Journal - February 16, 2007
by Paula Moore
Denver Business Journal
Littleton travel-industry pro Kevin Wright has launched the World Religious Travel Association (WRTA) and his own consulting business in recent months.
Wright helped create the WRTA, with Christian-event marketer Honnie Korngold of California, in late January because of the recent explosion in the religious, or "faith-based," travel industry. That business now generates $18 billion a year worldwide and is one of the travel industry's fastest-growing segments, according to travel and religious groups. Association dues range from nothing for some individuals to as much as $10,000 a year for trade groups.
"All faiths have destinations of significance, places to go on pilgrimages," Wright said. "The new, broader definition of religious travel is traveling with fellowship. ... People want a leisure vacation, and to travel with their church community and enjoy things like Scripture study."
Wright grew up in the tourism business. His father and consulting partner, James Wright, worked for what's now the Six Flags Inc. theme-park company and was president and CEO of the Space Needle Corp., manager of Seattle's Space Needle tower. During summers off from Washington State University, Kevin worked for the Holland America Lines cruise-ship company.
Wright moved to Denver in 2000 to work for the Globus travel company, whose U.S. headquarters is in Littleton. The relocation fulfilled a deal Wright made with himself as a 10-year-old living in Southern California. He promised himself he would live in Colorado because of its snow and mountains. The Colorado transplant left Globus and started Religious Market Consulting Group in November 2006.
Q: Why start the World Religious Travel Association? A: Religious travel has been considered a niche, but now we're an industry. With the association, we want to lead, enrich and expand the industry. ... At first, we'll work with travel sellers worldwide and focus on consumers in North America.
Q: What is the association's goal? A: Our goal is to work with religious travel, tourism and hospitality groups. There are seven categories of those groups -- travel wholesalers, tourism boards and cruise lines; travel suppliers and vendors like hotels and travel companies; travel agencies and consortiums; and religious suppliers and vendors like Focus on the Family and Mother Cabrini Shrine.
On the consumer side, there are religious organizations and churches, and individuals and clergy. Then there's the media. The association is broken down to work with all those segments.
We want to educate people about the vast size and clout of this market. We also want to educate others about the attributes of the religious travel market; it's very resilient, as the hotel industry knows.
Despite war, terrorism and recession, religious travelers don't cancel. And the religious market is the kind that when a convention is over, and if someone forgot to turn in their hotel key card, they mail it back.
Q: How many members does the association have? A: We only started two weeks ago. Put it this way: Our goal is to have 3,000 members this year, and we're on track for 4,000. We already have members from Israel, Africa, Australia and Turkey.
Q: Why has religious travel become so much more popular? A: In the last decade, there's been an increase in the population of people of faith. There are 10 million more Christians in the United States, and more people in general are traveling since 1995.
People of faith are spending more money on products related to their faith -- movies, books and music. Travel is one of the latest things ... They have realized they can travel and have their faith.
Q: What's the range of religious trips? A: From Faith Day at a Colorado Rockies home game, a ski trip and an Outward Bound experience to a traditional pilgrimage to the Holy Land. ... People think of religious travel as being around the world, but there's also plenty of it here in Colorado. There's Six Flags Elitch Gardens, which got 3,000 people for a Christian youth day; Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs; and the Mother Cabrini Shrine. Colorado has an edge when it comes to religious travel because we have a retreat-type setting with the mountains.
Q: Are religious trips more expensive than standard ones? A: Prices are comparable. There's actually been a shift from a poverty mentality among religious travelers to expecting first-class accommodations. Not luxury, but first class. That's new for the travel industry, whether you're talking about a convention or a trip. BIO Kevin Wright Business: President, Religious Market Consulting Group and World Religious Travel Association Work history: Globus, Maupin Travel Inc., Holland America Line.
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2007/02/19/story13.html
Travel industry veteran taps into faith-based niche
The Denver Business Journal - February 16, 2007
by Paula Moore
Denver Business Journal
Littleton travel-industry pro Kevin Wright has launched the World Religious Travel Association (WRTA) and his own consulting business in recent months.
Wright helped create the WRTA, with Christian-event marketer Honnie Korngold of California, in late January because of the recent explosion in the religious, or "faith-based," travel industry. That business now generates $18 billion a year worldwide and is one of the travel industry's fastest-growing segments, according to travel and religious groups. Association dues range from nothing for some individuals to as much as $10,000 a year for trade groups.
"All faiths have destinations of significance, places to go on pilgrimages," Wright said. "The new, broader definition of religious travel is traveling with fellowship. ... People want a leisure vacation, and to travel with their church community and enjoy things like Scripture study."
Wright grew up in the tourism business. His father and consulting partner, James Wright, worked for what's now the Six Flags Inc. theme-park company and was president and CEO of the Space Needle Corp., manager of Seattle's Space Needle tower. During summers off from Washington State University, Kevin worked for the Holland America Lines cruise-ship company.
Wright moved to Denver in 2000 to work for the Globus travel company, whose U.S. headquarters is in Littleton. The relocation fulfilled a deal Wright made with himself as a 10-year-old living in Southern California. He promised himself he would live in Colorado because of its snow and mountains. The Colorado transplant left Globus and started Religious Market Consulting Group in November 2006.
Q: Why start the World Religious Travel Association? A: Religious travel has been considered a niche, but now we're an industry. With the association, we want to lead, enrich and expand the industry. ... At first, we'll work with travel sellers worldwide and focus on consumers in North America.
Q: What is the association's goal? A: Our goal is to work with religious travel, tourism and hospitality groups. There are seven categories of those groups -- travel wholesalers, tourism boards and cruise lines; travel suppliers and vendors like hotels and travel companies; travel agencies and consortiums; and religious suppliers and vendors like Focus on the Family and Mother Cabrini Shrine.
On the consumer side, there are religious organizations and churches, and individuals and clergy. Then there's the media. The association is broken down to work with all those segments.
We want to educate people about the vast size and clout of this market. We also want to educate others about the attributes of the religious travel market; it's very resilient, as the hotel industry knows.
Despite war, terrorism and recession, religious travelers don't cancel. And the religious market is the kind that when a convention is over, and if someone forgot to turn in their hotel key card, they mail it back.
Q: How many members does the association have? A: We only started two weeks ago. Put it this way: Our goal is to have 3,000 members this year, and we're on track for 4,000. We already have members from Israel, Africa, Australia and Turkey.
Q: Why has religious travel become so much more popular? A: In the last decade, there's been an increase in the population of people of faith. There are 10 million more Christians in the United States, and more people in general are traveling since 1995.
People of faith are spending more money on products related to their faith -- movies, books and music. Travel is one of the latest things ... They have realized they can travel and have their faith.
Q: What's the range of religious trips? A: From Faith Day at a Colorado Rockies home game, a ski trip and an Outward Bound experience to a traditional pilgrimage to the Holy Land. ... People think of religious travel as being around the world, but there's also plenty of it here in Colorado. There's Six Flags Elitch Gardens, which got 3,000 people for a Christian youth day; Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs; and the Mother Cabrini Shrine. Colorado has an edge when it comes to religious travel because we have a retreat-type setting with the mountains.
Q: Are religious trips more expensive than standard ones? A: Prices are comparable. There's actually been a shift from a poverty mentality among religious travelers to expecting first-class accommodations. Not luxury, but first class. That's new for the travel industry, whether you're talking about a convention or a trip. BIO Kevin Wright Business: President, Religious Market Consulting Group and World Religious Travel Association Work history: Globus, Maupin Travel Inc., Holland America Line.
February 4, 2007
Travel Age West cover story "Religious Travel"
Travel Age West magazine is featuring this week a cover story on the World Religious Travel Association and faith-based travel.
You can view both articles at:
1) WRTA story http://www.travelagewest.com/articles.aspx?article=5983
2) Religious Travel story http://www.travelagewest.com/articles.aspx?article=5970
You can view both articles at:
1) WRTA story http://www.travelagewest.com/articles.aspx?article=5983
2) Religious Travel story http://www.travelagewest.com/articles.aspx?article=5970
February 2, 2007
International media attention for WRTA
In just the first week alone, the new World Religious Travel Association has captured international travel media attention in dozens of reporting outlets. Here is just a sampling.....
Travel Weekly: http://www.travelweekly.com/articles.aspx?articleid=54764&rbp=1
Travel Mole: http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1115493.php?mpnlog=1
Modern Agent: http://www.modernagent.com/Resources/Editorial.aspx?n=21214
Travel Smith: http://www.smithtravelresearch.com/smithtravelresearch/news/findnewsarticle.aspx?article=25361
Other travel publications and reporting outlets covering the World Religious Travel Association include ASTA, USAE News, www.travelindustrywire.com, www.hotelexecutive.com, and dozens of other travel media outlets. More travel media storeis and articles are still to come about WRTA including a forthcoming one in Travel Agent Magazine.
Travel Weekly: http://www.travelweekly.com/articles.aspx?articleid=54764&rbp=1
Travel Mole: http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1115493.php?mpnlog=1
Modern Agent: http://www.modernagent.com/Resources/Editorial.aspx?n=21214
Travel Smith: http://www.smithtravelresearch.com/smithtravelresearch/news/findnewsarticle.aspx?article=25361
Other travel publications and reporting outlets covering the World Religious Travel Association include ASTA, USAE News, www.travelindustrywire.com, www.hotelexecutive.com, and dozens of other travel media outlets. More travel media storeis and articles are still to come about WRTA including a forthcoming one in Travel Agent Magazine.
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