During July 39,581 pilgrims arrived bringing the total for the year to date to 122,330 pilgrims who have registered at the Pilgrims' Office.This is a growth rate of 9.1% which is down on the rate of 11% in the same period last year.
There also are some other changes noticeable in the composition of pilgrims, compared to previous years.
As John writes, during this year’s first 7months,
overall arrivals registered at the Pilgrims’ Office, compared to the same period in 2013, show an
increase of 9.1%.
This is made up by increases of 8% in Spanish and 10% in foreign pilgrims. The proportion of foreign vs. Spanish arrivals has consistently been increasing over the years. If in 2011 they made up 48% of the total arrivals, in 2014 year-to-date they were 54%.
The proportion of walkers who reportedly
started in Sarria was 24% of all pilgrims, which shows a steady yearly increase since 2011 (21%). There is a similar trend of pilgrims who walked the shorter routes on other Caminos to Santiago.
The
Camino Francés walkers, representing some 68% of all arrivals in Santiago, increased by
6%. That’s less than the overall percentage of arrivals, but those who walked other Caminos made up for the difference. The CaminoPortugués increased by
17% (16% of all arrivals), the Camino Inglés by
53% (3% of the total) and the Camino Primitivo by
24 % (3% of the total) compared to last year. There was no substantial change in numbers who walked the Via de la Plata.
The percentage of Camino Francès pilgrims who started walking
before Sarria has gradually decreased from 51% in 2011 to 44% so far this year.
These figures might indicate
shorter Caminos compared to similar periods in previous years, and therefore more people probably spending less.
The composition of age groups did not change: 28% of pilgrims were less than 30 years old, 54% between 30 and 60 years, and 18% over 60 years old. Even so, there seems to be a tendency in larger numbers of pilgrims over 60 years old, who usually are economically better situated.
We'll have to see how pilgrim volumes develop during the coming months.
It might be interesting to know whether statistics can be obtained from the newly introduced Distance Compostelas.
Keep on walking!