The Camino de Santiago continues as a reference for national and international pilgrimage. Every year more pilgrims decide to take this route, which has as its goal the Cathedral of Santiago and a religious significance that annually attracts thousands of national and foreign people.
A report prepared by the tour operator Santiago Ways has revealed the figure of the last count, the one carried out last year 2024. Specifically, there were 499,239 people who completed the Camino. A 42% of these were Spanish which also represents an increase of 3% of the same figure in the previous cycle.
These data, presented at FITUR, also reveal that the pilgrims came mostly from Andalusia and Madrid, followed by the Valencian Community. The foreigners in the lead are the Americans, Italians and Germans, in that order.
Furthermore, of these pilgrims, 40.5% were between 46 and 65 years old, this being the largest age segment.
Motivation for it
The study also analyzes the reasons why pilgrims undertake the Camino. The majority, represented by the 60% undertake this path as a cultural experience. 25% present it as a personal physical challenge and 15% have religious motivation.
New challenges
The report also points out challenges such as overcrowding in summer, which concentrated 38.4% of pilgrims between July and September. In this sense, Santiago Ways advocates strategies to promote low seasons and diversification towards less traveled routes such as the Camino Inglés and the Camino Portugues.
The report concludes with a call to action to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Camino de Santiago, promoting public-private collaboration, infrastructure modernization and the use of technologies to monitor environmental impact and manage pilgrim flows efficiently.
FOUNTAIN: THE DEBATE
