ABSTRACT
We live in a globalised, mobile and continuously changing world. At present, the most acceptable and popular form of mobility amongst people is tourism. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, over 900 million international arrivals were recorded in 2008 (World Tourism Organization 2009), a figure that rose to 940 million in 2010. However, it remains extremely difficult to analyse tourism as a homogeneous phenomenon because journeys differ from each other with regard to their motivation, objectives, means and forms. This chapter focuses upon and analyses the experience of so-called valuistic journeys. The term valuistic journey involves the concepts of both traditional religious and modern secular pilgrimage, and such journeys may be seen as a means of demonstrating the values of their participants as well as revealing their personal and social identity. For the purposes of this chapter, valuistic journeys are considered a separate and identifiable group of journeys or form of tourism.
