in search of a common experience: a comparative study: Comparative study on Tourists' Spiritual Experiences in Relation to the Various Types of Tourism.
The objective of this study is to investigate the extent of spirituality in various types of tourism, to test the hypothesis of the existence of common spiritual experiences among all types of tourists. McKercher's typology of cultural tourists and Norman's (2012) typology of Tourists' spiritual experiences were applied to classify various groups of spiritual tourists participating in each type of tourism activities. Study population consists of all individuals who have traveled with the aims of pilgrimage, recreation, visiting cultural historical attractions, business, visiting religious sites, or participating in ecotourism and nature-based tourism. Sampling was done based on the convenience method according to the size and nature of target population. Finally, it was concluded that most of pilgrims and visitors of the religious sites, were purposeful and sightseeing spiritual tourists with deep intention to search for spiritual growth. Also, Among nature-based tourists, Ecotourists, business and recreational tourists, and those who had traveled to visit cultural and historical sites, a considerable number were Casual , Incidental and Serendipitous Spiritual Tourists, and only a little percentage had purposefully traveled for spiritual growth. Whoever, tourists' survey indicated the existence of at least one powerful element of spirituality in all types of tourism.
Mohammad Hossein Imani Khoshkhoo ( University of Science and Culture )
Zahra Nadalipour ( University of Science and Culture )