Faith-Based Travelers Get More Tour Options for 2009

No one argues that the gloomy economic climate has put a damper on discretionary spending, but does that necessarily include leisure travel? One group that doesn’t think so is religious travelers, who have been quietly growing in numbers over the last few years.

According to the Globus Religious Travel Study, conducted by Menlo Consulting Group, nearly 10 million are expected to have taken an international religious trip by 2012.

Group tours are especially popular with religious travelers, said Mike Schields, director of group sales and emerging markets for Globus, and the average length of travel is from five to 14 days.

New religious programs from Globus in 2009 include a seven-night Vatican, Assisi & Southern Italy package that includes an optional three-day extension to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a site where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared. The tour is priced at $2,049, land only, or from $3,599 with the Medjugorje extension.

Globus’ most popular faith-based packages include the nine-night Footsteps of Apostle Paul, featuring Athens, Corinth and Piraeus in Greece, followed by a three-day Greece and Turkey cruise and an excursion along the apostle’s ancient route. Travelers continue to Veria and visit the Bema of Paul, among other cultural sites. The tour is priced from $2,149, land only.

Trafalgar, which has been offering customized faith-based group tours for years, formalized its offerings in that category this year with a series of Journeys of Faith and Spirituality itineraries for 2009.