Sacred World Heritage Sites and Their Representations within Travel Information Sources Aiming at International Tourists

Islands are one of the frequently represented images of tourism. Often seen by Western tourists in particular as a symbol of paradise that offers beaches, sea, and relaxation, islands are also places of cultural and religious heritage and in some cases, actively being promoted as Island of God(s) by tourism boards. In general, sacred places are often marked as tourist sites within travel information sources. Tourists from various religious backgrounds and belief systems visit these with different motivations. Hence, information becomes an integral part of making sacred places understandable. Yet little research has been found on how sacred places in general are represented within travel information sources. Therefore, this study aims to explore their representation at two World Heritage Sites in Japan. Both sites are on or include islands that are considered sacred and are home to the shrines of Itsukushima Jinja and Munakata Taisha. A variety of travel guidebooks, tourism association websites, the shrines themselves, and UNESCO were chosen as travel information sources, as these represent the views from within and outside the destination. Through content analysis, it was possible to classify the information, and it was found that Japanese sources have a stronger focus on the religious elements of the sites while Western sources are rare on Munakata Taisha, and in the case of Itsukushima Jinja, they focus on the landscape of the island and promote it as a highlight of Japan. That has implications for the sacred sites since information about their religious character is not consistent across the sources and needs further exploration of how tourism impacts the religious and sacred activities of the shrines and their worshippers.