The tourist behind the pilgrim in the holy land

Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land have evolved over the years into tourists. The behavior of the pilgrims as tourists has never been researched and in light of the large influx of pilgrims expected in the new Millennium to Mediterranean countries, it should be addressed. This paper compares the characteristics, behavior and expenditure patterns of tourists to Israel defining themselves as pilgrims to other tourists. The formers were found to differ in many aspects from other tourists. Moreover, within the pilgrims group Catholics and Protestants were found to differ in their patterns of behavior as tourists.