Potencjał turystyczno-religijny archipelagu Filipin

Tourist and religious potential of the Philippine archipelagoThe paper discusses the geographic distribution of the most important centers of religious worship ( Marian shrines, sanctuaries of the Lord, sites of religious festivals, Passion Plays ) in the Philippines, presenting the issue against the background of a diverse mosaic of language, ethnicity and religion ( mainly Christianity and Islam ). The primary purpose of the paper is to describe the significant religious and tourist potential of the Philippines. The statistical data used in the paper were obtained from the World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO ), materials obtained from an internet query, and the available research literature on religious tourism in the Far East. Much information came from direct observation and material collected during a research stay in the Philippines in 2010. The authors place particular emphasis on the key characteristics of pilgrimage centers of the Roman Catholic religion – the dominant religion in the Philippines. The data show the most important sites and religion-oriented buildings such as churches and sacred figures as well as their importance to pilgrims. The paper also focuses on to the importance of pilgrimage centers of different religious denominations