Madras Univ to host Nat'l conference on religious tourism in TN from Sep 7

CHENNAI: The University of Madras will be hosting a National conference on religious tourism in Tamil Nadu from September 7 at its campus to provide an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the areas of religion, tourism, infrastructure development, and information system.

The two-day conference also aims to invite papers from academicians, professionals, and research scholars in related disciplines to present their views through research papers, a communique from the institution said.

The conference' objective is to probe through and find answers in various aspects that including that is there an existence of any shared faith practices in the religious tourist sites and what do they signify.

Whether the available infrastructure facilities are adequate enough in the religious tourist sites and available modalities of preservation and conservation efforts of the heritage sites.

The conference also identify how the existing circuits of religious tourism help in promoting and enhancing tourism.

Other aspects include finding the significance of the art and architecture of religious tourist sites.

The gathering will also discuss the usage of ICT tools to help in enhancing religious tourism in the state besides the role of this tourism in the social and economic development of the local communities.

The university said that original research papers were invited for discussions and deliberations in several themes including the role of stakeholders in promoting religious tourism, infrastructure and hospitality management, art and architecture of tourist sites, spatial mapping of religious sites in Tamil Nadu, pilgrimage routes and hotspots, use of ICT in promoting religious tourism website development and sites of cultural and folk significance.