Pilgrimages could be the next travel trend.
Like many who walk the Camino de Santiago network of pilgrim’s routes, Sherly Cho had no obvious religious motivation. But she never anticipated that the 500-mile journey from St. Jean Pied de Port, in the French Pyrenees, to Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, Spain, would inspire major changes in her life.
“Going alone was a good choice,” Cho says. “I made friends for life. We shared everything: a dorm, an apple, our innermost feelings. I realized that I could make do without material things; stuff just weighs you down. Now I’m downsizing my home; decluttering my life.”
More travelers than ever are embarking on pilgrimages, a trend that may boom in a post-COVID world, as people move away from short-haul city breaks toward fewer flights and longer trips with a sense of purpose.
“In recent years, our pilgrimage bookings have risen markedly,” says Tim Williamson, from UK travel company Responsible Travel. “They’re very popular with solo travelers, but increasingly families are embarking on them too. Lockdown has shown us that community is important; people want space but miss human connection. Pilgrimages tick many of these boxes.”
The year before COVID-19 slammed the brakes on international travel, the Camino de Santiago witnessed record pilgrim numbers. According to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela’s Pilgrims Reception Office, 347,578 hikers received their Compostela certificate (an official accreditation) in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent. Its records also showed that a growing number were solo pilgrims, like Cho, and that only 40 percent of all pilgrims claimed religion was their sole motivation.
Between 2016 and 2019, sales for all Camino de Santiago routes soared. The increase was especially dramatic for the Caminho Português (pilgrimage routes starting in Portugal), which skyrocketed by nearly 100 percent. Lesser-known routes are becoming increasingly popular, such as Camino Invierno; this off-the-beaten-track alternative for solitude seekers arriving in late autumn and winter takes in many of Spain’s Romanesque chapels and vineyards.
Bookings for traditional routes also look set to soar in 2021. “We’re expecting a surge in bookings for this year’s Xacobeo, or Holy Year, when the Feast of St. James (July 25) falls on a Sunday, which last occurred in 2010,” says Mary Lawless, at self-guided walking holiday specialist Macs Adventure. “Consequently, pilgrims who walk the Camino will be able to enter the cathedral by the ‘Holy Door.’ And those who visit the apostle’s tomb will obtain plenary indulgence: the complete forgiveness of all sins.”
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