Faith and Practice in Tourism

All around the world, people compartmentalize their lives to ease the discomfort of clashing worldviews in the different aspects of their lifestyles. Christians go to church on Sundays and Muslims go to mosque on Fridays and yet the rest of their lives remain unchanged. Yet the mark of a genuine, compelling faith seems to be a life completely enveloped in what it believes to be true. The topic of how to apply personal faith to our work places and every avenue of our lives is an important yet sometimes uncomfortable one.
As Christian partners running a travel agency (The Travel Source) in a Muslim country, we have decided that we will run our business with the most integrity that we can muster. We will not cheat on taxes, cut corners, deceive clients, or knowingly permit any kind of practice that violates the principles of ethics and integrity. This often means that we lose money by not following systems that have become normal practice yet violate issues of integrity that we feel to be important. This is one way that we aim to apply our personal faith to our work place, even when it involves sacrifice.
I see this issue of the relationship between faith and business pop up all over the tourism industry in Morocco. Shop owners have to struggle with the question of whether it is ok to “fib” to a client in order to make a sale and how much profit it is ok to make from one particular item. Is it just business, or is it deception? False guides have to struggle with whether they are willing to earn enormous amounts of commission from their client’s purchases when claiming that they are conducting the tour for free. Is it just the way things work, or are they cheating their clients? Taxi drivers have to struggle with whether they are willing to raise the price for foreigners. Is this ok because foreigners have more money, or are they taking advantage of someone that doesn’t know any better? Hotels have to decide whether they will serve alcohol and allow activities that violate their personal faith. Is this ok because they are not personally engaging in those activities, or are they in fact encouraging those activities in order to make extra money? Does this make them responsible?
These issues of faith and practice will continue to be an uncomfortable yet important tension for those who seek to be holistic people of faith. There will always be those who compartmentalize their lives and those who strive to apply their personal faith to every avenue of their lives. These kinds of people will likely be required to make sacrifices along the way, yet perhaps it will be a mark of how deep their faith really runs. As a travel agency (The Travel Source) we will continue to promote only guides, drivers, and businesses that demonstrate integrity and ethical practices.