Religion and spirituality in the travel and tourism sector : a study of lonely planet’s Indonesia and Thailand guidebooks

The distinction between religion and spirituality can be observed in the travel and tourism industry. The term "religion" is associated with institution, uniformity, and group. Spirituality, on the contrary, is individual, subjective, and experience-based. This opposition overlaps with the disparity between travelling and tourism. The content analysis was inspired by an article by Siv Ellen Kraft. My aim was to verify her statement in the contexts of Lonely Planet’s guidebooks to Indonesia and Thailand, Eastern countries popular among foreigners charmed by their religious and spiritual otherness. I examined the images of religions delivered by Lonely Planet and studied the context and the frequency of application of the following terms: "religion", "spirituality", "belief".