Religious tourism, unlike all other segments of the tourism market, is fundamentally motivated by faith. Today, holy cities that have historically been the object of pilgrimage – such as Jerusalem or Rome – continue to be important points of reference for the sector.

The religious tourism sector is strongly established in Europe – where it is estimated that more than fifteen million people undertake some type of religious tourism – and Latin America, so several tourist agencies have specialised in this sector.

The type of trips in this sector usually correspond to short stays, of three or four days, or medium-term stays, around 15 days. There are various positions regarding what is included within this type of tourism, but in general it can be considered to include visits to sacred places such as pilgrimages, visits to sanctuaries or sacred places and tombs of saints, attendance and participation in religious celebrations, canonisations, visits to religious leaders, Eucharistic congresses, holy years, etc.

The 20 most visited sacred destinations in the world, ranking edited by http://www.forbestravel.com

1. Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico City.
2. The Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome.
3. Tomb of the Great Imam Reza, in Mashad, Iran.
4. Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes of the Kii mountain range, Japan.
5. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.
6. Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Montmartre, Paris.
7. Sabarimala Temple, Kerala, India.
8. Aparecida del Norte, Brazil.
9. Sanctuary of Padre Pio, in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
10. Cologne Cathedral, Germany.
11. Lourdes, France.
12. Tomb of Imam Hussein, in Kerbala, Iraq.
13. Mount Tai, Shandong, China.
14. Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Italy.
15. Sanctuary of Jasna Gora, Czestochowa, Poland.
16. Sanctuary of Fátima, Portugal.
17. Meiji Jingu Temple, Tokyo, Japan.
18. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
19. Jerusalem, Israel.
20. Varanasi, India.