Risk and Safety Challenges for Religious Tourism and Events

Travellers today face many challenges from risk and safety issues. Focusing in particular on risk and safety issues faced by visitors to holy sites, this book looks at the unique challenges raised, where annual religious festivals are commemorated with mass gatherings lasting for days and large crowds require detailed disaster management plans. Beginning with a general section on risk management, covering areas such as disaster management, terrorism, crime and security, the book then delves deeper into specific issues and challenges. It reviews important topics such as understanding the behaviour of crowds, how to perform a risk assessment for a sacred space, and travelling in what some would regard as an increasingly hostile world. Examining critically all risk and safety challenges in this area of management, the book:- Includes a full section of global case studies, as well as discussion questions for each chapter, encouraging readers to translate theory into good practice.- Offers critical thinking on risk, vulnerability and long-term development for mass gatherings.- Covers the importance of disaster management practices and offers practical advice for ensuring attendees' safety.Mitigating risk at mass gathering events and festivals is an area that still needs further research, but this book brings together current thought and provides a valuable reference for those studying religion, tourism and events, as well as event organizers, emergency and hospital services, and local authorities.

is editor in chief of International Journal of Safety and Security in Tourism (UP Argentina) and International Journal of Cyber Warfare and Terrorism (IGI-GlobalUS). Besides being Senior Researcher in the Department of Economics at University of Palermo, Argentina, he is a global affiliate of the Tourism Crisis Management Institute (University of Florida, US), the Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies (University of Leeds), The Forge (University of Lancaster and University of Leeds UK) and The International Society for Philosophers, hosted in Sheffield UK. With more than 700 published papers and 25 books, Korstanje was awarded as Outstanding Reviewer 2012, International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, University of Salford, UK; Outstanding Reviewer 2013, Journal of Place Management and Development, Institute of Place, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and Reviewer Certificate of Acknowledgement 2014, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (IJCHM), University of Central Florida, US. Now he co-edits almost 10 specialized journals in such themes as human rights, mobility, tourism and terrorism. Korstanje is subject to biographical records for Marquis Who's Who in the World since 2009. He has been nominated for 5 honorary doctorates for his contribution in the study of the effects of terrorism in tourism. In 2015 he was awarded Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, UK and the University of La Habana, Cuba. In 2017 he was elected as Foreign Faculty Member of AMIT, Mexican Academy in the study of Tourism, which is the most prominent institution dedicated to tourism research in Mexico. Now he works as an editorial advisory board member of Cambridge Scholar Publishing UK and IGI Global US.

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 TourismSeries Editor, CABI Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Book Series

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 ResearchSeries 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