Houses of worship making travel plans

Villagers looking to take a faith-based vacation can look no further than their area houses of worship. A number of churches and synagogues are sponsoring trips and cruises around the world for vacations that mix traditional tourism with religion and faith. According to a 2015 article by Travel Market Report, an estimated 50,000 churches across the United States have a travel program. Those programs can range from mission trips and service outings to conferences and more. In The Villages, there are a number of houses of worship looking to help congregants and others find that niche. Faith-based travel is a growing market, not just in the United States but around the world. According to the World Tourism Organization, up to 330 million people visit key religious sites around the globe every year. Additionally, religious tourism adds up to $100 billion to the world economy per year.

So what is faith-based travel? According to the Faith Travel Association, a community of tour operators, travel agents and others serving faith-based markets, it includes pilgrimages, missions, conferences, leisure outings and more. And a few local houses of worship are offering a little something for everyone.

Village View Community Church in Summerfield  is organizing its first “Footsteps of Paul” tour, which will take place from Oct. 29 to Nov. 11 .

“We previously did three trips to Israel, but this year we wanted to do something different,” said Debbie Harrison , a Village of Dunedin resident helping organize the trip. “Israel is part of this year’s trip,

Article source: http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/news/villages/houses-of-worship-making-travel-plans/article_f1aeb0da-af5c-11e9-9e1d-8f2b41b673f0.html