One of the conference’s central themes is the social dimension of religious tourism. The first panel addresses the identity of religious tourism through the promotion of evangelisation and social solidarity, bringing together experts such as Luís Gaivão, Isaac Assor, Graça Maria Alves and João Pedro Faria, who will share perspectives from different pastoral and cultural contexts.
The second panel focuses on the illusion of communication, featuring contributions from leading voices such as Sandra Moreira and Vítor Tomé, who will examine how narratives and media influence the perception and transmission of values associated with tourism and spiritual experience.
The third panel, entitled “Hope: an immersive experience of religious tourism”, presents practical experiences from destinations and expressions of faith, with the participation of Fátima Eusébio, Fr Carlos Filipe da Silva and Pedro Rodrigues. They will analyse how immersion in pilgrimage contexts—and among pilgrims—transforms personal and collective realities.
Panel IV, which gives this press release its title, is dedicated to sharing practical cases of dialogue and social friendship—case studies and concrete examples—presented by **Pilar Valdés Arroyo (from the World Religious Tourism Network Destinations), José Manuel Pimenta, Fr Edgar Clara and Alexandra Rufino. This panel will showcase projects and experiences illustrating how cooperation among sacred destinations, public institutions, the Church and local communities has generated models of welcome, participatory governance and tourism product development with social and spiritual impact, turning tourism into a vehicle for human and cultural encounter.
Finally, the fifth panel, “Paths for the future”, brings together academics and professionals such as João Ferrão and Carlos Costa to discuss trends, challenges and opportunities that can make religious tourism a strategic factor for peacebuilding, cultural integration and the sustainable development of territories.
Beyond academic and practical content, the Conference provides a meeting space for participants from different parts of Portugal and other countries, encouraging exchanges that strengthen collaborative networks and foster new forms of cooperation around tourism projects with a social and spiritual purpose. At a time when societies face major challenges related to social cohesion and cultural diversity, these sessions underline the value of religious tourism not only as an economic activity, but also as an agent of dialogue, hospitality and understanding between communities through the travel experience.
The Tourism Pastoral Ministry—the organisation responsible for the event—emphasises that initiatives of this kind contribute not only to evangelisation, but also to a deeper understanding of the cultural identity of destinations, promoting tourism that respects human dignity, celebrates diversity and helps build bridges between different expressions of faith and ways of life.
These conference days therefore stand as a reference platform for those working at the intersection of tourism, culture and spirituality, offering a unique opportunity to share knowledge, build partnerships and design strategies that promote a more human, inclusive and transformative tourism.
For more information and registration:
https://jornadaspastoralturismo.pt/
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvGAzvfy5URf8bDrwXU8LuI_ed87ZqZ88D1n18p1nQLAyqVg/viewform
