Tourism Recreation Research
June 22, 2016
Girish Prayag, Paolo Mura, C. Michael Hall et al.
32 citations
Ayahuasca tourism in Iquitos, Peru, creates ambivalent experiences for both tourists and shamans. Tourists perceive their encounters with the hallucinogenic beverage as spiritual, gaining a better understanding of self and others. Shamans view interactions with tourists mostly positively, yet negative consequences on their traditional practices are evident. The study highlights fluidity, positionality, and self-identification of roles within this tourism context.
Annals of Tourism Research
April 11, 2015
Girish Prayag, Paolo Mura, C. Michael Hall et al.
29 citations
Ayahuasca experiences can significantly enhance spiritual perception, with 85% of participants reporting profound psychological insights. In a sample of 150 seekers engaged in religious tourism, 70% felt a deeper connection to their spirituality after participating in ayahuasca ceremonies. These findings highlight the intersection of psychedelics and diverse aspects of tourism research, suggesting that ayahuasca not only serves as a drug but also as a transformative tool within sacred spaces. This nexus standard invites further exploration into the sociology of spiritual tourism.
Journal of Sustainable Tourism
January 1, 2026
Alexandra Coghlan, Girish Prayag
4 citations
Tourism experiences rarely produce the deep paradigm shifts needed for sustainability, but psychedelic tourism—involving traditional shamanic practices or high-end wellness centers—can trigger such ontological changes, altering a person's sense of reality and how they know it. Drawing on Meadows' system-dynamics leverage points, the study reviews anthropological and medical research to show that psychedelic tourism does induce these profound shifts, yet integrating them after returning home remains difficult, similar to other tourism experiences.