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On Obama’s recent outreach to the Muslim world, he and Secretary of State Clinton visited Sultan Hassan Mosque in southern Old Cairo. Their tour of the historic mosque, built between 1356 and 1360, was a clear gesture to learn more about and show respect for the Islam religion.

The visit piqued my interest in how often a religious site or house of worship is part of people’s travel plans. Growing up as a “preacher’s kid,” my family made frequent such stops on our cross-country summer road trips. People visit religious sites for multiple reasons: for inspiration and enlightenment, to learn more about the culture of a specific geographic area, and certainly for the architectural beauty.

No visit to Paris is complete without visiting the unparalleled Notre Dame Cathedral (which had 13.6 million visitors in 2006) and everyone vacationing in Washington, DC, should experience the National Cathedral, a house of prayer for all people. Why an estimated 35,000 people showed up at Stonehenge for Summer Solstice this past weekend, possibly in a quest for understanding the site’s spiritual connection.

The faith-based travel market seems to be growing too, with folks wanting to use vacation time to make deeper connections to their faith. Globus, a leading religious tour operator, issued a 2007 report that one in ten international pleasure travelers have already been abroad on a faith-based vacation – approximately 4.5 million U.S. travelers. No surprise that Israel, Italy and Greece are top destinations among these travelers. Numbers are expected to grow as more tour operators meet the needs of this niche.

Find more here.

As the trend of “cultural tripping” grows in U.S. traveler’s quest for more authentic global travel, it’s a good reminder that highlighting historic places of worship and religious sites is important when marketing any tourist destination. More and more travelers might be showing interest to learn more about their own faith, and others, in our global community.