World Religious Travel Expo 2009

on religious travel ❖

kevin j. wright

World Religious Travel Expo 2009 IN THE FALL OF 2008 in Orlando, an historic event took place in the travel and tourism industry. For the first time in history, faith tourism professionals and planners from around the globe gathered together under one roof to meet and network with one another.

Today this assembly of faith tourism organizations and individuals, the World Religious Travel Expo, constitutes the only global marketplace for religious travel and hospitality. It is here where all segments of the $18-billion industry come face-to-face to buy, sell, develop products, find new suppliers, develop new partnerships and stay at the forefront of faith tourism.

This year’s Expo will be held from Nov. 14-16 in Reno, Nev.

portfolio and develop new relationships/partnerships in the industry.

Who will be at the Expo?

The World Religious Travel Expo 2009 is expected to welcome more than 600 tourism organizations and travel professionals from around the globe. All delegates are either involved in religious travel and hospitality or looking to expand their presence and portfolios. At-

strengthen your presence in the rapidly growing religious travel and hospitality industry – whether you are a travel professional or planner. In short, here are the Top 10 Reasons to attend:

• Buy and sell on the world’s premier stage of religious travel and hospitality.

• Find new products and services in faith tourism.

• Learn how to effectively build a thriving faith-based travel program, business or division.

• Meet the “Who’s Who” in the religious travel industry.

• Discover new faith-based travel products and services for your portfolio.

• Learn how to promote your organization/trips effectively to your clients or members.

• Gain in-depth and cuttingWhat can you edge knowledge on religious experience at the Expo? travel and hospitality.

By attending or exhibiting • Develop relationships and Faith tourism leaders meet in Reno this November. at the World Religious Travel partnerships with key faith tendees and exhibitors include the Expo, you can network with hundreds tourism leaders. buyers, sellers and re-sellers in faith of travel industry professionals from • Participate in the industry’s most tourism.

Buyers include travel agents, more than 30 countries. Destinations, comprehensive educational program on planners, product managers and others tour operators, cruise lines, attractions, faith tourism. in a “purchasing” capacity, while sellers hotel properties, travel suppliers and • Become involved in the most imporand re-sellers include professionals and a host of other providers and planners tant gathering of the religious travel and entities such as travel agents, tour operafrom Africa, the Americas, Asia, Aushospitality industry. tors, destination management organizatralia, the Caribbean, Europe and New highlights for the 2nd annual tions (i.e. tourist offices and CVBs), the Holy Land will be represented. In Expo include co-locating with the lodging facilities, transportation compaaddition, the Educational Conference National Tour Association Annual nies, cruise lines, suppliers, media, relifeatures the most comprehensive profesConvention, offering delegates ungious sites and others in a similar sional development program on faith precedented opportunities for business “selling” capacity. tourism. As such, the Expo is the ideal growth and networking. place to enter or expand your presence Contact: World Religious Travel Why attend the Expo? in faith travel, build your brand, buy Association, 888-255-9782. See a video The World Religious Travel Expo and sell products and services, discover and register at the Expo’s official weboffers a unique opportunity to new trends, enrich your religious travel site, wrtaexpo.com.

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on religious travel ❖ Religious News BAPTISM SITE DRAWS CHRISTIANS TO JORDAN Bethany beyond the Jordan, the traditional biblical location near the banks of the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, has been a hub of activity in 2009.

For more than a decade, experts have unearthed ruins of early churches and the ancient settlement associated with John the Baptist, and now many Christian denominations have begun building new churches nearby to facilitate modern pilgrims in what has been called the birthplace of Christianity.

In March, Baptist World Alliance officials, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prince Ghazi Bin Mohammed of Jordan joined officials from around the world to dedicate the new

28 August 2009

Baptism Center. In May, Pope Benedict XVI blessed the cornerstones of two new Catholic churches being built. The Baptism Center and Catholic churches join the fully operational Greek Orthodox Church and others under construction.

Several hundred thousand visitors came to the baptism site in 2008. In 2009, more Americans have visited the site than any other nationality.

Once the new facilities are completed, officials are prepared to receive more than a million visitors a year. (877733-5673, visitjordan.com) TURIN, ITALY The Shroud of Turin will be on display for public viewing from April 10 to May 23, 2010 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

The shroud, according to tradition, was Christ’s burial cloth and bears a full-length photonegative image of a crucified man, believed by many Christians to be Jesus Christ.

Normally the church keeps the shroud behind bulletproof glass in a special chapel. A hermetically sealed casket made of space-age alloy preserves and conceals the shroud.

The Pope must approve any removal for study or public display. Travelers have not had the chance to see the shroud since 2000. The shroud is expected to draw more than two million travelers to Italy’s Piemonte region. (sindone.org)

Churches are being built at Bethany beyond the Jordan, a new destination for Christian tour groups.

NEW JERUSALEM ATTRACTION The Time Elevator in Jerusalem is a new interactive experience that uses motion-based seating, panoramic screens and special effects in conjunction with a film. The film covers the 3,000-year history of Jerusalem, highlighting important events such as the Roman conquest, the birth of Christianity and the establishment of Israel. Seats move in six different directions and surround-sound headsets allow the show to be heard in English and seven other languages. (time-elevator-jerusalem.co.il).

MOSAICS MUSEUM The Museum of the Good Samaritan, one of the world’s largest mosaics museums, just opened in the Judean Desert near Jerusalem. Located on the main highway between Jerusalem and Jericho, the museum is near the site of the inn mentioned in the New Testament’s parable of the Good Samaritan.

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on religious travel ❖

Religious News Continued It is identified with the biblical town of Ma’ale Adumim and displays mosaics and artifacts discovered throughout Israel. The museum features an open-air display of mosaics and archaeological findings from both Jewish and Samaritan synagogues and Christian churches, including cisterns and remnants from the reconstructed Good Samaritan Byzantine Church. (goisrael.com) CALIFORNIA ABBEY The Cistercian monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina have undertaken the Sacred Stones Project, the reconstruction of an 800-year-old chapter house that was originally built in Ovila, Spain. The sacred stones that had once formed the Sacramento Valley monastery passed hands several times, and at one point, belonged to William Randolph Hearst before he sold them to the city of San Francisco.

The stones were used for various purposes throughout the city, but were awarded to the Abbey of New Clairvaux after the monks spent years petitioning for them. Numerous craftsmen, most of them from Europe, have worked to meticulously restore each aspect of the chapter house, considered the most important room in the monastery. Three of the Gothic portals have been completed. Masons will erect eight columns 30 August 2009

that will support the massive arches of the chapter house’s vaulted ceiling.

(530-839-2434, newclairvaux.org, sacredstones.org) PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM The National Museum of American Jewish History is constructing a fivestory building on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. Set to open in fall 2010, it will stand directly across from the Liberty Bell, a block south of the National Constitution Center and one block north of Independence Hall.

The core exhibition will trace the lives of American Jews from 1654 to the present, exploring how Jews created a new home in a free land and how America shaped their lives. Exhibits will draw on the museum’s permanent collection, which includes ritual objects and embroidered textiles carried to America by 19th century Jewish immigrants, plus artwork, photographs and rare books.

The new building will allow for expanded programming and activities that are not possible in the current facility.

Major spaces will include a Center for Jewish Education that will serve schoolchildren and young adults of every background, the 200-seat Dell Family Theater and an event space overlooking Independence Mall. (215-923-3811, nmajh.org) THE STORY OF JOSEPH Sight & Sound Theatres presents a new production of Joseph from March 6-Oct. 30, 2010 at the Millennium Theatre in Strasburg, Pa. The classic Bible story about Joseph’s forgiveness and integrity will feature a cast of 45 professional adult and children actors, dozens of live animals gracing the aisles, several dream sequences including Joseph in his colorful coat “flying” over the audience, larger-than-life stagLeisureGroupTravel.com

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*Book a 2010 Globus Oberammergau vacation to receive the $100 per person discount. Booking must be made, under deposit and discount applied between July 8 and October 13, 2009 for travel anytime in 2010. Offers not valid with any other offer except Journeys Club member benefit and applies to new 2010 Globus Oberammergau bookings only and will not be applied to existing bookings. Offer reliant on space availability. Full cancellation penalties will apply. Additional restrictions may apply. **All prices quoted are per person, land only, double occupancy. Air-inclusive pricing is available. Additional restrictions may apply.

on religious travel ❖

Religious News Continued ing that includes a spectacular Egyptian palace scene spanning 300 feet and wrapping around three sides of the audience, plus 20 original songs. Inspired by Joseph’s colorful coat, the show will weave a brilliant color scheme into the music, costumes, lights and special effects. Tickets for groups of 15 and more are $54.15 for adults, $16 for children, $28 for teens. Psalms of David returns to Living Waters Theatre April 24Sept. 25, 2010 (tickets $16-$29.45).

This year’s show at the Millennium Theatre, the epic musical In the Beginning, is the biblical account of creation and runs through Oct. 17, 2009, followed by Voices of Christmas (Oct. 3-Jan. 2 at Living Waters Theatre) and Miracle of Christmas (Nov. 7-Jan. 2). Hotel, meal and multi-show packages are available, as are behind-the-scenes tours.

32 August 2009

SOUTH AFRICA Groups to Africa, a South Africa tour operator, offers Christian travelers tailormade trips that combine faith, fellowship and fun. Activities might include a morning of caring for an AIDS-affected child at an orphanage, tea or a cookout with a local family, or attending a Sunday service at a rural congregation or mega-church.

Groups can spend devotion time in the African bush and go on safari in such game sanctuaries as Kruger National Park.

Other excursions might involve Soweto and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela’s prison cell. (groupstoafrica.com) NORTHWEST INDIANA The Shrine of Christ’s Passion has become an attraction of spiritual significance drawing people of all religious faiths from around the country. An interactive half-mile winding pathway of 40 life-size bronze statues, the Shrine provides an intimate environment for spiritual renewal. The 15-acre site, which has been under development for eight years, was designed to reflect the period when Jesus was alive. Pilgrims experience the Passion of Christ beginning with Last Supper and Garden of Gethsemane scenes and ending with the Ascension.

Original background music sets the mood along the trail, and each setting has a listening station where visitors hear a description of the scene and short meditation. The voice of the Shrine is Chicago broadcast journalist Bill Kurtis.

The Shrine of Christ’s Passion is funded by a not-for-profit foundation, and all proceeds from the gift shop and donations are used to maintain the Prayer Trail. Since opening in May of 2088, the Shrine, located 35 miles southeast of Chicago, has attracted more than 100,000 visitors. (219-365-6010, shrineofchristspassion.org) LeisureGroupTravel.com