There is growing interest in religious- or faith-based tourism, including ones that emphasize "themes" as much as "destinations." They might act as mini-missions or focus on charitable work. Have you ever been on such a trip and would you encourage people to go on them? If so, what might you hope they would get out of it?
My parents loved to travel and our family saw most of the United States on summer camping trips. In my late teens I quit college and bicycled around in Europe for several months uncertain of my life's purpose or direction. I guess I would consider this my first experience of faith-based tourism, though more in the style of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road."
I had always wanted to travel for an extended period of time, with no itinerary or end date. I did this in the 80s, traveling for almost a year in Africa by local transport, usually trucks or mini-buses. It took us six weeks to cross the Sahara from Liberia to Algiers by way of Timbuktu. Islam, the Catholic and Protestant missions and indigenous African religious traditions were all new to me. I also wanted to live in a country outside the United States, so I taught high school English in Liberia for a year while the country was under martial law during the Doe dictatorship.
