Paul Larsen, president of Rochester, Minnesota-based Ed-Ventures and chair of NTA's Faith Tourism Advisory Council, recently helped lead an NTA webinar on faith-based travel.
In a conversation with NTA HQ, he gives his assessment of the faith-travel market from his company's perspective.
"The economic downturn in 2008 and 2009 had a dramatic effect for us, but there are signs the economy is coming back. From 2011 to 2012 and from 2012 to 2013, we saw approximately 20 percent growth a year in revenues. That can largely be attributed to groups that travel with a purpose- those on a faith-based journey and those travelling on family heritage tours."
Larsen added that group sizes have been down, with the exception of pilgrimages or major events. He sees one coming up next year in Europe: "I think the canonization of the two popes in Rome is going to be big."
To hear more from Larsen and other specialists in this market, follow this link to NTA's website and replay the Oct. 16 webinar.
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