Prayagraj and the Kumbha Melā: The Transformation and Prospects for Cultural Tourism
摘要
The ancient city of Prayāga (modern name Prayagraj) in northern India has been an important pilgrimage centre since the ancient past. In a globalised world, it attracts a huge mass of pilgrims undertaking a faith journey and many interested tourists. With the Kumbha Melā being inscribed in the World Heritage List by UNESCO (2017), the chapter explores the prospects of Prayagraj, a site of grand pilgrimage, as a sustainable holy-heritage destination. As sites of cultural heritage attraction, the holy cities of India have immense developmental potential, integrating pilgrimage tourism affairs while preserving their traditional religious profile. Culture engenders attachment to place and provides meaning to people, and through sight, sacralisation stimulates touristic consumption prospects as an experience to the industry. This chapter attempts to assess pilgrimage as an aspect of culture’s symbolic representation, i.e. as a heritage for the tourism industry, through diverse meanings of its intangibility. A paradigm for sustainable development will also be proposed for an efficient, wide-ranging interrelatedness among religion, culture, heritage, pilgrimage, and tourism. Thus, it will evaluate Prayagraj as a model for cohesive, comprehensive, and sustainable development of holy-heritage sites, aiming for inclusive and holistic development.