All the pilgrim numbers from Santiago - 10% increase in pilg

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola

Greetings from Santiago. There has been a 10% increase in the number of pilgrims arriving at the Pilgrims' Office in the period 1 January 2013 - 31 May compared to the same period in 2012. The USA now ranks 4th in the list of countries.

The full analysis is here: http://www.johnniewalker-santiago.blogspot.com

Best regards

John

ps - for those who want to look at the May figures they are here:

http://www.oficinadelperegrino.org/2013 ... on-en.html

 

[JohnnieWalker]

And a further analysis by forum member Fraluchi:

"Pilgrim arrivals - Santiago de Compostela - May 2013
With 25’206 pilgrim arrivals during the month of May, the year-to-date period closed with 46’155.
Compared to the 41’935 arrivals for the same period in 2012, this represents a solid 10 % increase. And compared to 2011, the increase is a whopping 20%!
As could be predicted, the change in number of pilgrims from Spain has been modest: only a 3% increase compared to 2012 and a 3% decrease compared to 2011.
The growth has clearly been in the number of foreign pilgrim arrivals compared to the total arrivals: 61% in 2013, 59% in 2012, 52% in 2011.
Camino Francés pilgrim arrivals totaled 32’155 during the first 5 months of this year, representing 70% of the total.
Of these, 8’221 (26%) had started their pilgrimage before Pamplona, and 11’727 (36%) from Sárria.
Compared to arrivals during the same period in 2012, these represent an increase of 14% in the number of pilgrims starting before Pamplona, and 24% in the number of starters from Sárria. The “short Camino” seems to be gaining interest!?
Main foreign pilgrims arrived (in order of importance) from Germany, Portugal, USA, Italy, France, Ireland, UK, etc. Particularly pilgrims from the USA have substantially increased compared to 2012 (2’296 vs. 1’433, +60%). Also the number of pilgrims from Ireland and the UK, compared to 2012, has notably increased (2’534 vs. 1’766, + 43%)

So much for the first 5 months in 2013. It looks like a busy summer coming up!"

 

[KinkyOne]

I'm almost sure that's the result of E.Estevez movie The Way. I was asked constantly about it. Mostly not because I'm a filmmaker myself, but for I am a "former" pilgrim ... Even in 2011 on my last (and only complete) Camino there were questions if I've seen the movie. NO, I still haven't seen it and also don't believe to have an urge for that soon.

In the topic dedicated to methodist.pilgrim somebody re-posted his thoughts on increasing number of pilgrims on CF which says that maybe that could be also a good thing because more bars, restaurants and albergues would open. I kind of agree with that. And that also helps the people of Spain on and around CF. But still I have some strange feeling that it's just a temporary PR thing.

 

[fraluchi]

I'm almost sure that's the result of E.Estevez movie The Way.[...] But still I have some strange feeling that it's just a temporary PR thing.

Temporary publicity always attracts people to a destination (if the Camino can be called as such). It happened after Coelho's and Kerkeling's books, and the myriad of travel guides which have come to decorate bookstore shelves (and Amazon 8) ). Not to mention the many popping up Camino Travel Organizations.
The fact is that the "backpacker" stage ( ) is being followed by one of more sophisticated travellers. Many hostals and hotels on the Camino are substituting their (ailing) business people market by "tourigrinos" ( :roll: ), and this is a development pattern in any tourist destination.

 

[ktchnofdngr]

Part of the increase could also be due to the fact that Pope Benedict declared this year the year of faith before he resigned, and there is a plenary indulgence attached to pilgrimage to any major pilgrimage site.

Blessings,

Ruth

 

[fraluchi]

Part of the increase could also be due to the fact that Pope Benedict declared this year the year of faith before he resigned, and there is a plenary indulgence attached to pilgrimage to any major pilgrimage site.

Doubtful. Statistics show that the percentage of pilgrims who declared to have walked for religious reasons has gradually decreased: 2010 53%, 2011 47%, 1012 43%, 2013 41%
Walkers for purely cultural motives remained at a steady 5%.
However, the season has only started and future will tell :wink:

 

[natefaith]

Anecdotally I can say that I have experienced the increase in American pilgrims with absolute clarity. I've been living here for more than 5 years, and each year I see signs that awareness of the Camino is increasing. Friends send me links to articles in local newspapers with increasing frequency. The Way has certainly been a significant part of this increased awareness. We have always had people connect us with friends they know that are walking. This historically has happened at most a few times a year. This year this phenomenon has increased drastically. There are so many 'friends of friends' arriving each month that I literally can't keep track of them and remember all their names.

The point that Ruth brings up and that fraluchi responded to leads me to something I've been thinking about for a while. The three basic reasons we use to evaluate the religious motivations of pilgrims (religious, religious and cultural, and cultural) are so general it's hard to draw lots of concrete conclusions. I will say that (anectodally again) that in my experience other christian faith traditions (protestant, evangelical) are growing increasingly drawn to the pilgrimage. They may not even be aware of the plenary indulgence, but they are attracted to the spiritual journey. It would be fascinating to have a more detailed and nuanced study of pilgrim's religious thoughts (backgrounds, reasons for pilgrimage, etc).

- Nate

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Nate - you make a very interesting point. I'm not sure that the concept of an "indulgence" is on the radar of many pilgrims - including catholics!

Also have you read Pilgrimage in a Secular Age?

Well worth having a look:

https://eric.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bi ... FilhoJ.pdf

 

[Deleted member 22638]

Hi Johnnie
Thanks for the pdf - I will take some time to read it.

On my recent Camino there was, at times, a tortuous, sometimes amusing debate amongst a few younger pilgrims I was walking a few days with about what they would state was their purpose on arrival in SdC. They were all avowedly non-religious but were happy to confirm they were spiritual. The concern was that if they did not state their intention was religious they would be given a plain certificate of completion, while they preferred to receive the traditional Latin Compostela, and so they debated the prospect and ethics of ending their spiritually uplifting Camino with a lie - I wonder if you had discussed this at the pilgrim's office?

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola

The rules around the Compostela are set by the Cathedral of Santiago and not the staff of the Pilgrims' Office. At the moment when pilgrims arrive they are asked to fill out a form which asks for their name (this is not recorded), gender age, nationality, where they live, profession, mode of transport and starting point. There are also three boxes which ask about the pilgrim's motivation:

Religious/ religious or other/ non religious

If there is any hesitation the member of staff at the desk always explains that that those who are more comfortable citing spiritual rather than religious reasons for their pilgrimage should tick the middle box.

The staff think that the form could be clearer and this is under consideration by the cathedral authorities. However they move slowly!

I hope this helps

John

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The dominant point of view in "The Way" is that of a parent. It should lure an older crowd to the Camino, one less sure of its physical ability to walk 750 km, and one more likely to use a baggage service, book hostales, and seem to be touristy. I doubt that proof can be extracted from the data collected. My sons watched the film and thought the Estevez character was simply careless, and were not drawn to the theme of being a better cultural anthropologist by walking in rural Spain. They did like having a father make an effort to understand his son, and stop being "a parent." Nothing in it made them want to walk it! The film did inform the English speaking world of the existence of the pilgrimage, but I don't think that the theatrical release reached the young.

 

[ktchnofdngr]

I think that the awareness caused by the way or other media about the Camino will be a mixed bag, and the people who need the Camino will be drawn to it. I say this because the first time I started thinking that I wanted to someday walk the Camino was when I saw a special about it by Robin Leech of "lifestyles of the rich and famous" on PBS back when I was in high school. It may be 20+ years later that I will actually set foot on the Camino (only 79 more days!), but I'm not sure I would even have it on my radar except for that show way back when. I actually didn't watch the way until AFTER I had made the decision to walk the Camino this year!

Blessings,

Ruth

 

[natefaith]

Thanks John for the book. Hadn't read it, and have downloaded it to read.