Problems and opportunities in developing tourism routes: the case of the Holy Grail Route

The paper attempts to outline the findings of a European Union sponsored research project (GRAIL) designed to develop and examine the importance of cultural and mystic routes based on culture, traditions, myths and legends and how they might improve local tourism. The Project aims to develop a Pan-European tourism route based on the legend of the Holy Grail. This paper identifies the challenges and opportunities posed by the development of such routes in general and the Grail Route in Great Britain in particular. It considers the problems posed by the complexity of the subject matter; different interpretations of the Grail in European literature; the fact that there are different contenders for the title of the ‘Holy Grail’ and the possibility of there being not one, but several routes based on different cultural and spiritual perceptions of the Grail