20.500.12556/RUP-23015 Sacred or sold? A systems approach to balancing spirituality and commercialisation in faith-based tourism Sacred or sold This paper examines the complexity of pilgrimage tourism, with its interdependencies among sacredness, spirituality, and commercialisation at faith-based tourism destinations. We use a Systems Approach to move beyond linear thinking that positions spirituality and commerce as inherently oppositional forces, arguing that pilgrimage destinations function as complex adaptive systems in which spiritual, commercial, and educational objectives interact dynamically. We build Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) formed from autoethnographic observation and stakeholder discussions. We present and compare four pilgrimage sites: Lourdes (France), Brezje (Slovenia), Malta, and Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia (Türkiye). The CLD models reveal the dynamics of the pilgrimage sites, the interdependencies, and the interactions among stakeholders (elements of the system). The systems approach demonstrates that successful destinations manage pilgrimage sites as integrated systems in which activities complement and constrain one another through feedback loops. Using a Systems Methodology, the article develops the dynamics of pilgrimage environments and presents a new typology of four pilgrimage (sacred) and commercial (secular) destinations. By advancing knowledge and education, the spiritual-commercial role of the sacred- secular destinations in question offers a different, comprehensive approach to their management. Članek obravnava kompleksnost romarskega turizma ter medsebojne povezave med svetostjo, duhovnostjo in komercializacijo v verskih turističnih destinacijah. Uporabljamo sistemski pristop, da presežemo linearno mišljenje, ki duhovnost in komercializacijo obravnava kot naravno nasprotujoči si sili, ter trdimo, da romarske destinacije delujejo kot kompleksni adaptivni sistemi, v katerih duhovni, komercialni in izobraževalni cilji dinamično medsebojno vplivajo. Na podlagi avtoetnografskih opazovanj in razprav z deležniki sestavljamo diagrame vzročnih zank (CLD). Predstavljamo in primerjamo štiri romarska mesta: Lourdes (Francija), Brezje (Slovenija), Malto in Hagijo Sofijo v Istanbulu (Turčija). Modeli CLD razkrivajo dinamiko romarskih mest, medsebojne odvisnosti in interakcije med deležniki (elementi sistema). Sistemski pristop kaže, da uspešne destinacije upravljajo romarska mesta kot integrirane sisteme, v katerih se dejavnosti medsebojno dopolnjujejo in omejujejo prek povratnih zank. S pomočjo sistematske metodologije članek razvija dinamiko romarskih okolij in predstavlja novo tipologijo štirih romarskih (svete) in komercialnih (posvetnih) destinacij. Z napredkom znanja in izobraževanja duhovno-komercialna vloga zadevnih sveto-posvetnih destinacij ponuja drugačen, celovit pristop k njihovemu upravljanju. religious tourism commercialization of pilgrimage spiritual authenticity systemic dynamics management of sacred sites heritage education verski turizem komercializacija romarstva duhovna avtentičnost sistemska dinamika upravljanje svetišč izobraževanje o dediščini true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-05-06 09:03:28 2026-05-06 09:03:30 2026-05-07 03:08:26 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 str. 58-72 iss. 2, article 7 Vol. 14 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova NiDoloceno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-04-30 338.48-6:2 2009-7379 276891651 RAZ_Jere_Jakulin_Tadeja_2026.pdf RAZ_Jere_Jakulin_Tadeja_2026.pdf 1 A098A62DC3F551C6343EEAB8F07E4624 20b634a0cbd5a615cc36ff04a30a0622d8e41661cc99834f25a1dca2bec45d3f b8561817-4919-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=33632 https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol14/iss2/7/ 1 9bdf71eb-4919-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=33631 Fakulteta za turistične študije - Turistica 0 0 0