Title: Factors associated with patience and aggression amongst the religious tourists in India
Authors: Harihara Subramanian Gayathri; Shalini Dixit; Ashish Verma
Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India ' National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
Abstract: The willingness to travel and increased mobility have altered the knowledge base of people and their expectations from religious expeditions. This calls for a renewed understanding of factors associated with them manifesting their peaceful movement. In this context, this paper sought to identify the latent constructs through structural equation modelling (SEM) using a questionnaire survey to investigate the reported level of patience and aggression amongst the religious tourists who attended Kumbh Mela 2016 (a periodical religious gathering) in Ujjain, India. After administering the survey to 683 participants, six factors under patience and aggression were identified. It was observed that the patience factors ('cue dependence', 'tolerance', and 'goal-oriented') and aggression factors ('norm violation', 'obstruction to movement', and 'social display of power') directly and significantly impact the patience and aggression levels, respectively. These findings will be critical in devising suitable preventive measures and policies for a safer event. These measures will enhance the experience of the pilgrims, thereby promoting religious tourism.
Keywords: mass religious gathering; patience; aggression; crowd psychology; SEM; structural equation modelling; crowd management; religious tourism; pilgrim experience; Kumbh Mela.
International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2022 Vol.12 No.1, pp.84 - 106
Received: 12 Apr 2021
Accepted: 11 Aug 2021
Published online: 07 Apr 2022 *