Haq, FarooqMedhekar, Anita2020-10-182020-10-1820172017Haq F. & Medhekar A. (2017). Is Spiritual Tourism an Innovation in Tourism for India and Pakistan?. In R. Benlamri & M. Sparer (Eds.) Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship as Driving Forces of the Global Economy. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, (pp. 519 - 529). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43434-6_44978-3-319-43433-9https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43434-6_44http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12519/267This conceptual paper attempts to build on the argument that innovation in tourism is a less focused topic in business and academic research. The growing interest in the practice and business of spiritual tourism cannot be ignored. This interest motivates the research aiming to present spiritual tourism as an innovation in tourism, specifically in India and Pakistan. In this unique study, the innovation in tourism is appreciated and analyzed from dimensions of product, process, and people, falling under the umbrella of architectural and revolutionary innovation. Hence the three elements of the tourism product: people, places, and events are adapted to align with the spiritual tourism as a tourism innovation. India and Pakistan are selected as the two countries since both carry the status of multifaith-purpose spiritual tourism destinations. This original research emphasizes on recognizing spiritual tourism as an innovation in tourism based on its products and services illustrating architectural and revolutionary innovation. The paper concludes with a matrix mapping elements of spiritual tourism with the dimensions of tourism innovation, hence filling a gap in the literature on tourism innovation and spiritual tourism. A relevant empirical study of travelers visiting India and Pakistan for spiritual tourism is a palpable future study. © 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.enLicense to reuse abstract has been provided by Springer Nature and Copyright Clearance Center.Spiritual tourismRevolutionary innovationTourism marketingArchitectural innovationIndia and PakistanConference PaperCopyright holder : © 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.