The effect of fervid attachment to religious rites on tourism: evidence from the Holy Week in Southern Italy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is aimed to examine natives' Fervid Attachment religious rites, as a part cultural heritage, in its extrinsic (sense belonging, rituality) and intrinsic (intimate bond, emotionality) characteristics, by shedding light on how leveraging these characteristics could be emphasized promote sustainable local development. Design/methodology/approach Based the principles an ethnographic research approach based observational methods, analyzes rites Holy Week Taranto, city located Southern Italy, capturing individuals' behavior according concept Attachment. Findings Results show that tourism destinations preserving their traditions heritage can satisfy tourists' spirituality needs and, promoting interaction with population (natives) terms relationship between them tourists, supporting communities' Moreover sense rituality, intimate bond emotionality empathized Practical implications Our results provide suggestions policymakers marketers leverage attachment boost tourism. Originality/value This shows from new perspective people are relevant destination.