Encountering spiritual tourism in Kathmandu

Spiritual tourism as a phenomenon is increasing worldwide. Many have conducted research looking at the intersection between religion and tourism, but few have focused on the host community within these encounters. Many Western tourists arrive in Kathmandu to go on retreats', and to participate in yoga and meditation classes. The majority of these are particularly interested in various forms of Buddhist practice and traditions. In this thesis I have studied how Nepali emerging adults view this trend, how extensive the contact zones between them and the spiritual tourists are, and whether or not there are signs of spiritual tourism having an impact on religious or spiritual trends in Kathmandu. Through interviews with eight Nepalis, and participant observation in Kathmandu, I have registered and identified ways in which the presence of spiritual tourism impacts various areas of the informants' religious or spiritual lives. The data material indicates that spiritual tourism has had little or no impact on the informants' religious or spiritual practice. It was however possible to detect areas of influence on the informants' ideas and discourse with respect to religion and spirituality. For instance, the availability of yoga and meditation centres has increased, and all of the informants who were not already participating actively in these, claimed that they wanted to try it. Emerging adults are in a stage of their lives when they have to make crucial decisions, also with regards to religion and spirituality. The way Kathmandu has been adapting to the demands from spiritual tourism makes this a factor in the choices emerging adults make. There are currently signs of a Buddhist revival in Nepal, and this could possibly be partly due to the increased attention given to Buddhism by spiritual tourists. With this thesis, I hope to share knowledge about a host community's encounters with spiritual tourism by presenting the perspectives and histories of eight Nepali emerging adults