Factors affecting the costs of religious tourism: A case study of Mashhad, Iran

The holy city of Mashhad, a city with a religious function - particularly pilgrimage has provided a suitable ground for religious tourism as one of the major forms of tourism. This, in turn, has provided potentials for cultural as well as urban economic dynamism. Costs of tourists, is one of the topics addressed in the economic process of tourism. In general, costs of a tourist include the cost of food, recreation, transport, accommodation, sightseeing, services, communication, etc. According to some case studies, normally more than 60 percent of the tourists’ costs are spent on accommodation. This study tries to find an answer to the question on, which of the above mentioned itemes do religious tourists in the city of Mashhad spend most. Base on the cross - application of attribution style methodology, field measurement and stay model, the required data were collected and analyzed. The results of the study indicated that most tourists in the city of Mashhad spent most on shopping While pervious studies indicate that more than 60 percent of the costs of tourists were spent on accommodation, this study indicates that the minimum cost was spent on accommodation. High costs of accommodation units, existence of veriety in the units, development of illegal acommodation units, and the annual income of the tourists are some possible reasons that could explain the behavior of the pilgrims.