Socio-Economic Impacts on Pilgrimage Tourism with Reference to Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, Karnataka

Abstract

Pilgrimage, whether religious or secular, is experiencing resurgence around the world. This includes the motives for pilgrimage, activities during the pilgrimage, and the influence of tourism on it. The growth of pilgrimage tourism in India has been astonishingly impressive. Pilgrimages to these destinations bring enormous economic gains to local residents. This paper investigates pilgrimage tourism and its issues and challenges and socio economic development in Udupi through pilgrimage tourism at Sri Krishna Mutt, Udupi. This article also explains and supports the idea that the economic impacts of religious tourism should not be neglected or underestimated, although religious institutions have traditionally attempted to downplay this in the past. The data for this study were collected from local residents through questionnaire, interview, observation and secondary data.