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Voyage Through Numinous Space: Applying the

Specialization Concept to New Age Tourism
a b
Tomas Pernecky PhD candidate & Charles Johnston Senior Lecturer
a
Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, e-mail:
b
Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006 Auckland 1020, New Zealand, e-mail:
Published online: 12 Jan 2015.

To cite this article: Tomas Pernecky PhD candidate & Charles Johnston Senior Lecturer (2006) Voyage Through Numinous
Space: Applying the Specialization Concept to New Age Tourism, Tourism Recreation Research, 31:1, 37-46, DOI:
10.1080/02508281.2006.11081245

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 TOURISM RECREATION RESEARCH VOL. 31(1), 2006: 37-46

Voyage Through Numinous Space: Applying the

Specialization Concept to New Age Tourism
TOMAS PERNECKY and CHARLES JOHNSTON
Wellness tourism involves satisfying the body, mind and spirit. Through this holistic approach it overlaps with a
sector intimately concerned with matters spiritual - New Age tourism. This paper examines New Age tourism and
New Age tourists in New Zealand, through discussion of a specialization index. Data on tourists were gathered via
questionnaires. A methodology permitting the development of a specialization index was then employed. Here,
specialization based on tourists' skills, knowledge and involvement was measured, resulting in respondents being
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 18:47 12 April 2015

categorized as low, medium or highly specialized individuals with respect to three aspects of New Age tourism -
spirituality, motivation, and consumer needs. Noteworthy profile characteristics emerged, showing differences in
levels of preference for organic food, alternative healing treatments, and religious beliefs. The survey also showed that
people who participate in the New Age phenomenon should not be homogenized into one group as some respondents
saw themselves as New Agers but also as Christians. Different levels of specialization means different market
segments exist. The specialization index, therefore, provides managers with an understanding of participants' differences
and preferences at each level: the index can serve as a useful tool for targeting the needs of each group. The results of
this study have managerial implications, which can be applied in wellness/New Age tourism management. This
paper improves the understanding of wellness tourism and wellness tourists by understanding New Age tourism in
general and New Age tourists in particular.

Keywords: New Age, New Age tourism, New Age tourist, specialization index, spirituality, wellness tourism,
quantitative methods.

Introduction
The desire to travel as part of a quest for spiritual
enlightenment is not new, nor does it appear to be declining.
In the new millennium, as people travel more than ever, the
pursuit of spiritual tourism is also expected to increase.
Holmberg (1993: 26) had anticipated new prospects in
spiritual travel more than ten years ago:
People will continue to explore their spiritual needs away
from home during travel. Although many travel agents
probably do not see themselves as rabbis, ministers, priests,
mullahs, gurus or shamans, they are still engaged in
activities to uplift, support and enhance people, activities
once almost exclusively relegated to holy people. As we
move into the twenty-first century, new opportunities to
serve as spiritual providers will emerge in travel and
tourism.
The concept of 'wellness', by contrast, is relatively
young: it was born only about forty years ago when Dr. H. L.
Dunn (1961) combined 'well-being' with 'fitness' and
promoted it in a variety of settings. The term is thus, only
slightly older than another contemporary social
phenomenon- the New Age- and historical analysis outside
the scope of this paper might indicate that the pre-existing
concept ofwellness enabled the New Age movementto come
into being. The title of this paper 'voyage through numinous
space' refers to that particular area ofwellness tourism where
New Age tourism will be taken to represent the spiritual and
mystical aspects of travel. Consequently, the numinous is
an important and, in some cases, primary element of certain
tourists' journeys, inseparable from well-being and thus
wellness tourism.
The main aim of this paper is to profile New Age tourists
in New Zealand. By using a survey instrument and the
concept of 'specialization,' the research attempts to answer
two questions: (1) Do specialized New Age tourists exist? (2)
In what ways are they 'specialized'? The paper begins with
an overview of the New Age phenomenon, and then
discusses the research methodologies adopted to identify
the New Age tourists. The terms 'well-being' and 'New Age'
are often associated with a qualitative research approach.
This study, however, utilized a quantitative method -
creation of a New Age specialization index- to address the
two research questions just mentioned. The results from a
survey showed that specialized New Age tourists do exist

TOMAS PERNECKY is a PhD candidate at Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. e-mail: tomaspernecky@gooutofbody.com
CHARLES JOHNSTON is Senior Lecturer in Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006 Auckland 1020, New Zealand.
e-mail: charles.johnston@aut.ac.nz

©2006 Tourism Recreation Research

 New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston
in New Zealand. However, this market segment is not a
homogeneous group; New Age tourists can be differentiated
in terms of their profile characteristics, interests, and
experiences. A short discussion of New Age religious
characteristics indicates that this research has not resolved
a definitional issue discussed in the literature.
The Context of New Age Tourism
In the literature on the New Age movement, there are
many different perceptions and definitions of what
constitutes New Age. According to Lewis, Melton and Martin
(cited in O'Neil2001: 458), the New Age movement is highly
synergistic; and the authors contend that all religions are
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one, and are merely different manifestations of the same
reality. It has also been characterized as a 'counter-cultural
movement' and related to the baby boomers: former hippie
members who are now part of the New Age stream (Green
and Aldred 2002; Kyle 1995). Heelas (1996) asserts that the
notion of the New Age movement is self-spirituality; this
assumes that the self is sacred and that spirituality lies within
the person (Frisk 2000). Hall (2003: 11) expands on what
constitutes New Age by providing the following activities
that are 'undoubtedly' a part of New Age culture: workshops
and seminars on yoga, visualization, neuro-linguistic
Programming, [eng shui, rebirthing, sacred song and dance,
prosperity, various healing techniques (e.g., Reiki, polarity
bodywork, Bach flower therapy, aromatherapy, reflexology)
and so forth.
New Age tourism has been studied from marketing
perspectives. Miller (1994) discussed the New Age movement
and its impact on marketing strategies. According to her,
people want to believe in something, to have some hope and
faith, and the selling of spirituality offers divine dividends.
New Age products have become very lucrative, with a wild
boom in the nineties when spirituality was the buzzword in
the merchandising business (Green and Aldred 2002). The
concept of New Age includes many meanings, and there are
major commercial markets surrounding religious
phenomena (Helve 1999).
In an age of market segmentation (Leiper 1990), people
are not just tourists any more- they are labelled and divided
into sub-segments of similar interests. With the increasing
number of people travelling for the purpose of spiritual
development, to visit sacred places or to be healed, it can be
conceptualized that there now exists a group of tourists
having New Age 'phenomena' as a common interest. Not
only is there demand but several travel agencies have begun
fulfilling these needs by specializing in New Age tourism
and developing products such as 'transformational travel
to sacred places', 'power trips' (Scheer 2000) and the 'yoga
38
cruise' (Mindbodytravel.com 2000) that meets the needs of
these people.
Sutton and House (2003) believe that New Age tourism
is intimately connected with the desire for new, exotic and
transformational experiences. Today many human
development activities offered by New Age centres are also
being proffered as tourism products. Such centres offer a
variety of courses, activities and experiences including:
traditional 'hands on' or skills-based workshops (hedge
laying and wood turning); aesthetic development (art, drama
and music); formal scholarly learning (including courses
hosted by visiting New Age spiritual and intellectual gurus);
experiential and personalized self-development (courses on
meditation, personal relationships and self knowledge); and
courses on alternative approaches to health and welfare
(including homeopathy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy and
Shiatsu massage).
In order to study New Age tourists, it is crucial to know
where they go. Many allegedly New Age sites, such as the
Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) or native tribal villages, are in actual
fact places of spiritual significance rather than exclusively
and predominantly New Age locations. New Agers visit sites
and events belonging to different cultures and religions.
Although it seems that there are no places that could only be
labelled truly New Age sites, after closer examination of
places of New Age interest (Figure 1), one discovers that true
New Age sites do exist. Meditation centres and New Age
retreats, spiritual festivals, places where New Age services
are offered (such as divination) can be labelled as of New
Age character. When it comes to geographical areas, there
are places such as the Vortex sites in Sedona, Arizona
(Lindbergh 1998). In New Zealand, New Age places are being
promoted by the Good Company Pacific (Good Company
Pacific 2002) and include sites such as The Kaimanawa Wall,
The Stone City in the Waipoua Forest, Sea Gardens in
Punakaiki or the 'birth place of the Gods' Kura Tawhiti Te
Kohanga o Hine Tuahoanga. Employing and adapting the
categorization of New Age tour types by US New Age tour
operators (Attix 2002) and definitions of New Age by
scholars (Hall and Edwards 2002; O'Neil 2001; Robinson
2000; Sutton and House 2003), Figure 1 identifies six forms
of New Age tourism activities. These were regarded as the
core of New Age tourism and served as a guide for developing
the questionnaire for this study.
Research Methodology
The Concept of Specialization
The main goal of this research was to develop an index
for New Age tourists in order to distinguish how specialized
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006
 New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston

they are. The concept of specialization can be broadly
applied, although it has been mostly used to study outdoor
activities such as hunting (Mcintyre and Pigram 1992),
fishing (Bryan 1977), canoeing (Wellman et al. 1982) and
sailing (Kuentzel and Heberlein 1997). Specialization has
been conceived in terms of a developmental process (Scott et
al. 200 1). It can also be explored from the perspective of re-
creating social worlds and sub-worlds and has potential for
providing managers with a grounded understanding of
group differences on many matters of concern (Ditton et al.
1992: 49).
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Bryan (1977: 175) has defined the term recreation
specialization as a 'continuum of behaviour from the general
to the particular, reflected by equipment and skills used in
the sport and activity setting preferences'. He asserted that
differing levels of specialization are found within any
recreation activity and that there are distinct classes or
subgroups of participants who exhibit unique styles of
involvement. For example, he divided canoeists into high
specialization (white-water canoeists and kayakers) and low
specialization (mild white-water canoeists, and flat -water
canoeists). He also argued that recreationists will tend to

Power/Sacred Places Wellness & Holistic Health

(Sacred sites/stones, (Reflexology, Bach Flower
temples, pilgrimages, holy Therapy, Aromatherapy,
sites, visiting tribes, rituals Reiki, Acupuncture,
etc.) Homeopathy etc.)

Greenery & Eco-Spirit

(Spirituality related visits to Nature,
Deep ecology, Mother Earth,
Goddess, etc.)

Workshops/Seminars/Festivals
Other
(Visualization, Feng-Shui, Karma,
(Retreat Centres, New Age
Reincarnation, Auras,
Accommodation, Spas, UFO,
Sacred Dance/Song, Self
purchase of crystals or other
Development, Gurus etc.)
goods etc.)

NEW AGE TOURISM ACTIVITIES

Figure 1. New Age Tourism Activities: A Classification

Content adapted from Attix 2002; Hall and Edwards 2002; O'Neil 2001; Robinson 2000; Sutton and House, 2003.

Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006 39

 New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston
move predictably from low to high specialization over time.
Kerstetter et al. (2001) have additionally noted that past
experience in a given activity, the level of involvement with,
the knowledge about, and the level of investment in the
activity will determine where individuals will fall along this
continuum. Highly specialized individuals can be identified
by an advanced level of knowledge about a specified activity
or area of specialization as well as interest in objects, events
and activities closely related to their focus of specialization.
For this research, a mixed questionnaire was used to
collect information about people who attended a New Age
festival in New Zealand. Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003)
describe the mixed questionnaire as a self-reporting
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instrument filled out by respondents themselves, which
includes a mixture of open-ended and closed-ended
questions. As one goal of research probability sampling is
generalizability, it is important to stress that the purpose of
this research was to develop a specialization index and a
framework to better understand the New Age traveller, rather
than to determine from a probability sample the precise
number of visitors from which to draw inferences about the
population. On the basis of this rationale a venue with a
high representation of New Agers was chosen.
'Purposive sampling', where the researcher uses some
criterion or purpose to replace the principle of cancelled
random errors (Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003) was used to
identify respondents. For this study, the method was
modified; the venue was purposely chosen to provide access
to a group of respondents likely to show varying degrees of
specialization. Although purposive sampling is commonly
associated with qualitative methods, the method can be used
in research with either a qualitative or quantitative
orientation. However, generalizations beyond the sample
are not valid. To be able to examine how specialized this
particular sample of tourists were, a specialization index of
New Age-ness had to be developed.
The Specialization Index
Nine questions within the survey were used to create a
nine-item index of specialization. These questions fell into
three general categories: experience (three questions),
centrality to life (three questions) and investment (three
questions). Experience measured the respondent's New Age
practices and skills. Questions were asked concerning
lifetime number of trips to New Age sites/ events, number of
trips to New Age sites/events annually, and ownership of
New Age items. Centrality to lifestyle measured the
respondent's knowledge of New Age/spiritual places, the
number of New Age/spiritual courses completed, and
involvement in New Age/spiritual activities. Lastly,
investment measured the respondents' monetary
40
expenditures on New Age products and services over both
specific time periods and throughout their life. The number
and design of these questions was chosen after a careful
examination of previous studies employing the
specialization index. Questions used for the specialization
index are listed in Table 1.
Before the final specialization index could be
constructed, all nine variables needed to be standardized
such that the values for each ranged from zero to one (0- 1)
(Wellman etal.1982). For example, a question measured by a
yes/ no variable was standardized to values 0 for NO and 1
for YES. Similarly, questions measured by a scale ranging
from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree' were standardized
as follows; strongly disagree (0), disagree somewhat (0.25),
neutral/neither (0.5), agree somewhat (0.75) and strongly
agree (1). Questions measured by open-ended variables such
as 'How often do you invest in your New Age/spiritual
interests?', were standardized by developing categories based
on the amount spent per period, then giving each category a
value ranging from zero to one. The footnotes shown below
Table 1 provide details of the method used to standardize
each variable.
Table 1. Standardized Variables for Specialization Index
Alpha
Dimension/! tern if item
deleted
Investment
Investment in New Age and Spirituality per given 0.7825
period 1
How often do you invest in your New Age/Spiritual 0.7828
interest (monthly etc.) 2
Total lifetime investment 3 0.7731
Experience
Lifetime no. of trips to New Age sites/events 4 0.7778
Number of trips to New Age sites per year 5 0.7964
New Age items owned6 0.7896
Centrality to lifestyle
Knowledge about spiritual places 7 0.7979
New Age courses completedB 0.7817
Involvement in New Age activities on regular basis9 0.7986
1 2
Measured by open-ended question. Measured by 6-category, pre-
bracketed question ranging from investing 'monthly' to 'less often than
yearly'. 3 Measured by 6-category, pre-bracketed question ranging from
'$50 or less' to '$5001 and more' 4 Measured by open-ended question.
5
Measured by open-ended question. 6 Measured by 8-item checklist.
Items included: crystals, new age music (tapes, CD), new age/spiritual
literature, periodicals, software (astrology, numerology etc.), various
tools to foretell future (tarot cards, runes, scrying, I ching etc), alternative
medicine (including herbs, oils, homeopathic etc.) and other items.
Where other items owned, they were specified by each respondent. 7
Measured by yes/no variable.' Measured by yes/no variable. 9
Measured by yes/no variable.
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006

The Cronbach Alpha was used to ensure the index was
rigorous. This is one of the most commonly used reliability
coefficients (George and Mallery 2003); it is based on the
average correlation of standardized items. The overall
Cronbach Alpha for all nine variables was 0.81. Table 1 shows
the Alpha values for each item if it were to be deleted from
the index. For example, if the variable 'Investment in New
Age and Spirituality per given period' were deleted, the
Alpha would decrease to 0. 7825, which would result in an
index of lesser reliability. This particular combination of
variables is, therefore, optimal because the Alpha value
would not increase to more than 0.81 if any of the items in
Table 1 were removed.
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The final specialization index score for each
respondent was computed by simply adding the
standardized scores for all nine variables. For the purpose
of this analysis, respondents were then placed into one of
three tercile groupings: low specialists were defined as
respondents whose total score was between zero and three
(0 - 3.0), medium specialists scored between 3.1 - 6.0, and
high specialists scored between 6.1 - 9. 0.
Measuring Differences between New Age Tourists
Once the respondents' scores had been placed into
terciles, an additional six questions were cross-tabluated to
explore the distinctions between the groups. These questions
are listed below.
• How important is spirituality in your life?
• I travel to this site/ event because of my personal interest
in spirituality /New Age
• I prefer organic food to non-organic food
• I prefer alternative health and welfare
• Do you intend to visit this event/site in the future?
• Satisfaction with your experience at this site/ event?
Study Site and Data Collection
Respondents were surveyed at the 'New Spirit Festival
2004' (NSF 2004) in Auckland, New Zealand. This
'numinous event' takes place in New Zealand on an annual
basis; it draws together people that have a common interest
in spirituality and its material manifestations. Various
products and services were offered (some for a price, some
free). Similar events, varying by degrees of size and of
programme offerings, are organized in a number of countries.
The NASF 2004 contained many of the categories shown in
Figure 1. Over forty seminars and activities were offered such
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006
New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston
as aquarian healing, Indian head massage, ancestral healing, as
well as other unique activities such as painting from the source
as well as seminars on New Zealand's 'unique role in
birthing the New Age'. Over forty overseas and local
speakers, live music, an exposition of crystals, New Age
literature, essential oils, and other products and services such
as healing and astrology, fortune telling, Reiki healers, and
aura-readers were available to visitors. Furthermore, many
of New Zealand's meditation and spiritual retreats were
represented at the festival. This festival was numinous mostly
for what it provided to the participants; an ability to seek
wellness by engaging in spiritual activities through
consumption of these specific products and/ or services. The
'wellness' impacts on individuals varied across a range-
from increased feelings of belonging and understanding,
being more highly motivated after a tarot card reading, etc.
Observation indicated the visitors who listened to the
motivational speakers and participated in the wide variety
of activities often seemed to radiate joy and harmony. The
organizers estimated that over 2,800 people attended the
New Spirit Festival, making it a 'concentrated' venue of New
Age and wellness.
On 15 February 2004, a survey was conducted on 300
people at the New Spirit Festival. Each person was given a
package including an information sheet, a survey form and
a prepaid envelope with return address. Four respondents
returned the questionnaire during the event while all
remaining respondents chose to mail the survey forms back.
A total of94 responses were received, representing a 31 per
cent return rate. The Festival event covered a broad spectrum
of New Age pursuits thus provided a good starting point to
sample a cross section of typical New Age visitors.
Limitations and Implications
The limitations of this study differ depending on one's
position within the overall research spectrum. One of the
restraints a quantitative researcher might raise relates to the
venue for the survey- it had a distinct New Age focus that
would not likely attract a random sample of the broader New
Zealand population. This choice was deliberate in keeping
with the aim of the research, which was to explore the
differences among New Age visitors rather than to generalize.
Future research could modify the methodology by selecting
a venue visited by a more representative sample. A qualitative
researcher, on the other hand, could raise questions regarding
the issue of objectivity as this paper represents a study based
on certain subjective estimations. For example, answer
categories were based on monetary increments that the
researchers thought represented different levels of
specialization.
41
 New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston
Results
Prome Characteristics
The analysis of the returned surveys showed that the
respondents had the following demographic characteristics.
• Most (98 per cent) were from New Zealand (Auckland)
and from different regions of the country.
• Most were women (82 per cent).
• Most (92 per cent) were between 31 and 70 years of age.
Only 21 per cent were between 21 and 30 years old.
• The majority (82 per cent) identified themselves as New
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Zealand Europeans; there was only a small percentage (9
per cent) of Maori and/ or Asian representation.
• By contrast, income and education levels were diverse.
Responses regarding religious beliefs were mixed and
required explanation. About half of the respondents labelled
themselves 'non-believers' who had no religion. 'Believers',
the remaining half, divided themselves into Christians and
'other'; the latter included self-reference to identities such as
'Pagan Witch'. This response reflects the academic debate
as to whether the New Age phenomenon is religious or not.
The issue is especially interesting when it comes to Christian
people who see themselves as New Agers. Surprizingly, those
Christians who also responded yes to the question 'I consider
myself a New Ager' represented 53 per cent (Somewhat/
Strongly Agree) of all Christians, while an additional 32 per
cent ticked the Neither/Nor box. Only 15 per cent disagreed
(strongly or somewhat) with this statement.
Index Calculations
Summation of the responses for the nine questions
comprising the index produced individual scores that ranged
from 1.45 to 9.0. The overall mean was 6.55, indicating a
skewed distribution. However, representativeness was not
the goal; it was more important to (1) ascertain that low to
high specialization does in fact exist and (2) identify points
of similarity and difference among the levels of specialization.
The latter will be discussed in the next section.
With regard to (1), the study revealed that different
groups of New Age specialists do exist. Specifically,
calculations indicated that 69 per cent of the sample believed
or behaved in ways that made them high specialized New
Age tourists. A further 22 per cent scored as medium
specialized, while only 9 per cent of respondents were low
specialized. In other words, 69 per cent of respondents spent
larger, more frequent amounts of money in their New Age
42
and spiritual pursuits (Investment); they also visited a greater
number of New Age sites and owned more New Age items
(Experience); and their knowledge, skills and involvement in
the New Age were considered high (Centrality to lifestyle). By
contrast, low specialized respondents could have been
visitors patronizing a New Age event for the first time, had
no New Age skills and made fewer investments in New Age
items. Such respondents could have been family members
who simply 'went along' out of curiosity, or people who
were just developing an initial interest in New Age pursuits.
Given that the survey was done at a festival full of events
and activities attractive to the New Age lifestyle, the
percentage of respondents scoring in each tercile is
unsurprising. The New Spirit Festival is a well-known New
Age event within New Zealand, targeted at people interested
in spirituality. All visitors had to pay an entrance fee of NZ
$20 which would eliminate most casual goers and the
disinterested public. Replication of the survey at a different
type of venue, or to a sufficiently large random sample, would
determine more accurately the specialization levels in New
Zealand's society at large.
Although the percentage of respondents scoring low
specialized was small, there were two interesting across-
the-board results from the nine-item index questions. First,
all respondents (1 00 per cent) answered that they had
travelled to at least one New Age site/event. Second, the
greater majority of respondents (96 per cent) also stated they
possess two or more New Age items (e.g., tarot cards). Again,
this reflects the specialized nature of the festival; these results
are not likely generalizable across the wider New Zealand
public.
Differences Among the Specialization Levels
Crosstab analysis (SPSS) of the additional questions
contained in the survey substantiated the nature of the
differences between individuals scoring in the different
specialization levels. Table 2 details these. Following the
table, further characteristics of high specialized tourists will
be described; these will then be contrasted with results for
those who scored in the middle and low specialization terciles.
The High Specialized New Age Tourists
The high levels of investment, experience and centrality to
lifestyle of high specialized New Age tourists is confirmed by
their responses to the additional set of questions shown in
Table 2. Spirituality was either somewhat or very important to
100 per cent of respondents in this tercile, while a large
percentage (66 per cent) indicated they had travelled to the
festival out of personal interest in New Age. Strong lifestyle
preferences were exhibited for organic food (71 per cent
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006
 New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston

strongly agree) and alternative health and welfare practices Table 2. Levels of Specialization
over modern western medicine (87 per cent strongly agree). In
fact, no high specialized tourist indicated a preference for Level of Specialization High Medium Low
the western scientific approach to healing. The great majority Not at all 0% 0% 14%
were satisfied with their experience at the festival (87 per Somewhat
cent responded somewhat or very satisfied), and a similar 0% 0% 14%
How important is Unimportant
percentage (88 per cent probably or definitely will) expressed spirituality in your Neutral 0% 0% 43%
an intention to visit again. This suggests that the high life? Somewhat
specialized informants are dedicated New Agers who were 20% 29% 29%
Important
at the festival specifically to pursue their spiritual interests Very 80% 71% 0%
and will continue to do so in the future. They can also be Strongly
seen as the more dedicated wellness tourists whose (spiritual) 7% 0% 29%
Disagree
health is their priority. This segment of the tourist market is Disagree
I travelled to this 0% 6% 14%
what New Zealand needs to proactively court should it hope Somewhat
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site/ event because of

to establish itself as a leading New Age tourist destination. my personal interest in
Neither 0% 11% 14%
New Age Agree
27% 22% 21%
The Medium Specialized New Age Tourists Somewhat
Strongly
The data in Table 2 indicate that responses for the 66% 61% 22%
Agree
medium specialized tourists (scored 3.1-6.0) were sometimes Strongly
2% 11% 43%
quite similar but at other times quite different from high Disagree
specialized tourists, with respect to specific questions. Disagree
11% 6% 0%
Spirituality was important (somewhat or very? for 100 per cent Somewhat
I prefer organic food to
of this tercile, as well. High percentages of both groups (83 Neither 16% 22% 29%
non-organic food
per cent medium vs 93 per cent high) somewhaUstrongly agreed Agree
0% 28% 0%
they travelled to the festival because of personal interest. About Somewhat
the same percentage (51 per cent for medium vs 50 per cent Strongly
71% 33% 29%
for high) were very satisfied with the Festival. Similar Agree
majorities (82 per cent medium vs 88 per cent high) asserted Strongly
0% 11% 0%
Disagree
they probably/definitely will visit the festival again.
Disagree
I prefer alternative 0% 6% 14%
Somewhat
However, the responses were quite different for the two health and welfare to a
Neither 13% 28% 29%
questions related to consumer preferences. Medium Western approach to
Agree
specialized tourists have far weaker preferences for organic healing. 0% 28% 14%
Somewhat
food (only 33 per cent strongly agreed) and for alternative health
Strongly
and welfare (only 28 per cent strongly agreed). The range of Agree
87% 28% 43%
answers for the medium tercile was much broader than for Definitely Not 2% 7% 0%
high specialized tourists, though majorities did agree they
Probably Not 4% 0% 0%
preferred both organic food (61 per cent) and alternative health Do you intend to visit
I don't know 16% 22% 43%
and welfare (56 per cent). this site/ event in the
future? Probably Will 36% 32% 29%
Definitely
The Low Specialized New Age Tourists 42% 40% 29%
Will
The medium group responded much more similarly to Very
0% 6% 0%
the high specialized tourists than to the low specialized ones. Dissatisfied
Responses by the low specialized tercile (scored 0-3.0) were Somewhat
Satisfaction with your Dissatisfied 7% 6% 17%
in marked contrast to the other groups. With respect to experience at this
Neither 5% 11% 17%
spirituality, no one among the low group responded it was site/event
Somewhat
very important in their lives. While 29 per cent responded it Satisfied
36% 28% 33%
was somewhat important, almost the same percentage (28 per Very Satisfied 51% 50% 33%
cent) asserted spirituality was unimportant. Equal percentages
(43 per cent) agreed and disagreed that they had come to the Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding
festival because of personal interest. Source: Field research 15 February, 2004

Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006 43

 New Age Tourism: T. Pernecky & C. Johnston
The two consumption-related questions also provided
interesting contrasts. A higher percentage (43 per cent)
strongly disagreed that they preferred organic food; only 29
per cent strongly agreed. A majority (57 per cent), however,
asserted that they did prefer alternative health and welfare
to western medicine. This is slightly more than the medium
tercile (56 per cent agreement). Smaller majorities (66 per
cent) were satisfied with the Festival or expressed an
intention to visit in the future (58 per cent). There were no
respondents who indicated that they would not consider
returning; this is in startling contrast to the other tourist
segments, which had expressed some reservations. An
explanation could be that the festival was interesting and
unusual enough to entice the low specialized tourist, whereas
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 18:47 12 April 2015
some high and medium specialized New Age tourists did
not find it stimulating or captivating enough. Although the
highly specialized tourists were dedicated New Agers, their
experience and exposure to other New Age events might
have inflated their expectations and demands. In the returned
questionnaires from some highly specialized visitors, a litany
of complaints was expressed ranging from the poor quality
of speakers to non-functional toilets. Another highly
specialized respondent complained in his questionnaire:
'The reason for dissatisfaction is not the organizers, rather
the whole atmosphere of childish, naive illusion. Fake gurus,
foolish 'wise men', the unenlightened preaching
enlightenment .. .it feels like a circus full of snake oil
salesmen'. On the contrary, some low specialized New Age
traveller wrote glowing compliments about the speakers and
the organizers of the festival such as 'King Ring on weather
patterns was tops'. Indeed, it might be concluded that just as
the experiences and interests of the New Age tourists are
different across the three groups, similarly their opinions
and viewpoints on New Age products and events are also
highly variable. Indeed, the set of questions in Table 2
indicates the New Age market is not a homogeneous group
but comprises various sub-segments that can be
differentiated in multiple ways.
Discussion and Conclusions
As noted in the literature review, the concept of New
Age remains vague and it has been difficult to pin down to
include certain characteristics while excluding others. This
research has uncovered a new angle to this issue. The range
of responses to the question 'I consider myself a New Ager'
was quite broad. While 44 per cent agreed (strongly/somewhat),
almost as many (35 per cent) disagreed (strongly/somewhat).
Given that 69 per cent of respondents scored as high
specialists, it appears there is a difference as to how people
who respond like New Agers perceive themselves. It was
outside the scope of the project to examine whether the term
44
New Age has negative connotations (similar to the word
'tourist'), yet that now appears to be a distinct possibility.
It raises the question of whether people participating
in this research should be labelled as New Agers despite
disagreeing with this label. The answer rests at the very
beginning of the research. It is determined by the approach a
researcher takes in his/her study and the need to categorize,
label or explain opposed to trying to 'understand'. In other
words, the answer to whether someone is a New Ager and
whether New Age is a religion lies in how one seeks
knowledge (epistemology), his/her view on reality
(ontology) and the methodology employed. This study
employed quantitative methods to collect and analyze data,
resulting in demonstrating differences between New Age
tourists. The terms New Age and New Agers were found
appropriate (based on general knowledge and practices) to
label a phenomenon with such distinct characteristics in
order to classify this market segment. Nevertheless, there is
a limit to generalization as every person is a unique
individual. The research presented should therefore, be
approached from an angle of similarities and differences in
behaviour (investment, experience and centrality to lifestyle)
ultimately resulting in categorization and labelling.
A second issue discussed in the literature concerns the
relationship between New Age and religion. The responses
showed an almost even split between people who stated
they did not belong to any religious group (52 per cent) and
those professing some religious faith (48 per cent). This raised
an interesting question as to how people who label
themselves as religious regard aspects of individuality and
the 'numinous' in relation to New Age. Supposedly, New
Agers choose their own path rather than follow a dogma
(Clarke 2002). With respect to the numinous, they can believe
in any god they desire (Hanegraaff 1996), they often pick
and choose beliefs from different religions as if in a 'spiritual
supermarket' (Rothstein 2001: 134). They are often self-
spiritual (Heelas 1996). A written comment confirmed this;
one of the returned questionnaires noted: 'Be still and know
you are a god too. Oneness, wholeness, all that is universal
mind'.
The responses also suggested that New Agers cannot
be generalized in terms of their beliefs such as 'New Agers
believe they are part of one God or Universal Energy'. Some
people might be in transition from one religion to another
and still consider themselves as New Agers. Some self-
identified Christians among the sample also described
themselves as New Age believers. It might be argued that
such Christian-New Agers represent good evidence of a post-
modern lifestyle where religious boundaries are increasingly
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006
 New Age Tourism: T. Pemecky & C. Johnston

merged and distorted. Such people embody values and beliefs
that, on one hand, correspond to the teachings of Christ and
on the other, espouse the tenets of the New Age movement.
Hannabuss (1999: 299) has suggested that the post-modern
view of cultural tourism is that 'tourism is a way of exposing
oneself to, and developing, a wider cultural repertoire'.
Perhaps this is the case of the New Age tourists who
identified their religion as Christian. They, in terms of New
Age phenomena, may be open to, and developing, different
beliefs and experiences. Uriely (1997: 983) has asserted that
'conceptualizations of post-modern tourism depart from the
tendency of the earlier theories of modern tourism to
homogenize the tourist experience as a general type'. Post-
modern tourism, on the contrary, focuses on the multiplicity
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 18:47 12 April 2015
be considered medium or low specialized. These people
differed from each other; low and high New Age specialists
had strong differences in values about organic foods and
alternative medicine, for example. Ironically, the high
specialized tourists had higher expectations regarding New
Age experiences and were more demanding as customers.
Further data analysis showed there seems to be a sub-group
of people who live out New Age lifestyles but do not self-
identify as New Agers.
Apart from academic insights, the findings in this
research can serve practical purposes for managers. New
knowledge of the 'demand forces' of the phenomenon; for
example, can help to better understand this emerging tourism

segment. Such information can also be used in marketing

of tourist motivations, experiences and environments. The
rnindset of the Christian New Age tourist is certainly worthy
of further study. This is amindset that does not necessarily
subscribe to any conventional religion but instead chooses
and borrows from a variety of disciplines and religious
doctrines. The result is a very personalized way of connecting
with spirituality. We have only begun to understand what
that means for tourist destinations.
In conclusion, this research project attempted to
ascertain that specialized New Age people could be distinctly
identified. This was achieved through the creation of a
specialization index, as has been done previously for other
segments of the tourist market. Through analysis of
respondents surveyed at a New Age event, it was shown
that there are highly specialized New Age people in New
Zealand, in terms of their experience, levels of investment
and the centrality of New Age to their lifestyle. The method
also permitted identification of other respondents who could
New Age products and tailoring them for special needs. New
Age tourists will not go just anywhere; they look for places
with spiritual significance. When marketing New Age trips,
one has to understand that there are spiritually-themed
travellers but also travellers who are driven simply by
curiosity. Such information is useful in developing and
promoting New Age tourism products for a range of markets.
According to Holjevac and Mas karin (2004), one of the
most important factors in the quality of wellness tourism
product is diversity. The role of New Age tourism in relation
to wellness tourism is significant as it caters for that
particular market of tourists who seek the spiritual
component in their travels. Figure 1 demonstrated that New
Age tourism products are diverse in comparison to other
tourism products, and our research has indicated that there
are different levels of specialization within this particular
type of numinous voyage.

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Submitted: April 18, 2005

Accepted: September 7, 2005

46 Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006