Religious Events and Destination Competitiveness; Influential Role of Local Culture and Place Identity – Study of Thrissur Pooram in India

Religious events play a vital role in retaining the cultural values of a place. It further leads to establishing a distinct identity of the place. Previous research emphasizes the significant contribution of local culture in developing tourism competitiveness and determines the opportunities and future scope of tourism development in a region. While several constructs involve ascribing a unique identity to the place, it is important to probe the constituents of the religious events’ heritage value and their role in shaping place identity. The present research examines the role of religious festivals in preserving the heritage value of the place and sustaining its distinct identity by taking note of Thrissur Pooram, a mega-religious event conducted in a temple in Thrissur, a state of Kerala in India, in the month of May every year. The study employed a qualitative research framework and used a multi-method. Data collected from personal experience, photographs, and images from different sources and in-depth interviews with the organizing body members were analyzed. The findings emphasize the importance of religious events in triggering emotional attachments to cultural values in the local community, which further leads to the development of place identity and destination competitiveness.