The musical aspect of religious tourism is currently amongst the less investigated themes. A first survey suggests that although it does not appear to be the main motivation for religious travel, it is a valued component of the experience. The aim of this study is to explore how sounds operate to forge social and spiritual identifications on the principles of Lefebvre’s rhythm analysis (2004).
This paper contributes to the emerging field of experiential tourism research by confirming that religious experiences are not only interior but also involve sensory experiences. It follows that tourists’ sensory experiences should be a key component of any comprehensive tourist satisfaction assessment. In an empirical case study in cities of Southern Italy we explored the phenomenon of religious bands. This is part of an ongoing study that employs music, religion and tourism as a platform, situating music as a basis for advocating engagement with spirituality and religion tourism