They hit 200,000 total pilgrims in the last week of August 2017, the week after I left my volunteer stint there. Given the year-to-year increases, 2017 will likely see more than the 270,000 (ish) from 2016. The question remains, will it hit 300,000?
Personally, I think not. I suspect an annual total in the range of 285,000 - 290,000 is most likely. More or less than that and I would be surprised.
We shall ALL see what develops... However, given the annual rate of increase, I think 2018 WILL see a total of more than 300,000 pilgrims arriving at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago de Compostela. This is my opinion. However, absence some serious adverse, external event that keeps the pilgrims away, the growth curve is nearing this point.
Remember, this includes only those folks who present themselves at the Pilgrim Office counter and fill out the "estadilla" form that collects demographic information. NOTE: Names, though collected on this sheet, ARE NOT, REPEAT NOT entered to the computer system.
After data entry, the hard paper forms are stored away in cardboard archive boxes in the order the forms were filled out. Forms from one day are filed together. There is no other filing system that includes names. That is the only system they use.
Each line entry on the estadilla form represents a single pilgrim who received either a Compostela OR a Certificate of Welcome (if they ticked the tourist / sport column for the reason for their Camino). A group of 15 pilgrims yields 15 line entries on this form.
The daily, monthly and annual Pilgrim Office counts of Pilgrims DO NOT include the many folks who arrive requesting "solo sello" (only the Stamp of the Cathedral) in their Credentials. These folks choose not to wait to obtain the Compostela or Welcome Certificate.
Their reasons are individual and personal. But, as a generalization, these are veteran pilgrims who decide that they do not need or want another Compostela. Others are pilgrims who simply want the stamp to indicate they made it that far, but are not interested in the Compostela, for whatever reason.
On a weekly basis, the total number is likely a hundred or two, during the peak summer months. On an annual basis, the "solo sello" pilgrims likely do not amount to more than a couple - three thousand. But, again, as the numbers are not recorded anywhere, the count is anecdotal. My projections are subjective, base on a month of observation each summer.
I hope this helps the dialog.
