Purpose & Scope

Aiming to tap into what is part of a US$18 billion industry and representing part of the 25% of the meetings industry in the US alone, the conference formally instigated an initiative of elevating the status of religious tourism in Cyprus, the nearby region and in Europe, covered both the demand and supply perspective of religious tourism and provided networking opportunities to interested parties.

The focus was primarily on how can involved parties handle challenges that are expected to have a positive influence in the development of this type of tourism.

Cyprus was the ideal staring point for ICORET 2006. The Byzantine churches of Cyprus with their important architecture, iconography, mosaics, murals and rare icons, the chapels and shrines of the countryside, the monasteries speak for the intense dedication to traditions and the close interconnection of art with religious worship through the centuries. Visitors also have the opportunity to come across buildings and places of worship belonging to other doctrines and religions which co-exist in a continuous dialogue promoting the rare historic and cultural palimpsest of Cyprus.

The underlying perspective of ICORET 2006 is global, but with a particular focus on similarities and differences between regions of the world, representing various phases of development, systems, cultural, societal and environmental conditions. The expected outcome of ICORET 2006 is to build stronger ties between tourism authorities, travel agents, communities and religious sectors, and to devise approaches to move towards a more truly integrated way of thinking about religious tourism; a holistic approach to a complete offering with sustainability at the center. This is an approach that will help policymakers and business professionals, religious authorities and civil society to address the complex issues around them more effectively.