Traditional and Modern Pilgrimages Research Questionnaire

[Sfroud]

Hello Everyone!!

My name is Sam, I'm a student writing a paper on tourist motivations in attending different types of pilgrimage.
I have created a short closed questionnaire that doesn't need any personal details. After completion you will not be contacted in any way.

Your participation in this survey will be of great value to research into the nature of pilgrimage in today's modern world.

Here is the link below.

Tourists Motivations in Attending Traditional & Contemporary Pilgrimage

This is an exploratory study into tourist motivations and their relationship to attending traditional or contemporary forms of pilgrimage. The information provided in this questionnaire is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998- part II and its exclusive use for the purpose of an...

docs.google.com

Thank you very much Merry Christmas!!!

 

[Deleted member 67185]

It may be beneficial for you to keep in mind the nature of this website/Forum. . . or perhaps even spend time getting to know what this site is about. That way, it may help you understand what I am about to say.

I read the questions asked, and I'll pass on participating. Even the title of your survey tool is off-putting to me by, in effect, declaring that Pilgrims are 'tourists'. In my experience, tourism is not the nexus for being a Pilgrim. Travel to reach a place of Pilgrimage has no more to do with 'tourism', than driving to a grocery store makes one a tourist.

Perhaps, this survey is better targeted to actual tourism-motivated websites or forums.

 

[Marc S.]

hi Sam,

Good luck with your research. I have filled in the survey, as I have no problem defining myself as a tourist who has been walking pilgrimages. You may be aware that the distinction between pilgrimage and tourism is very relevant for some people & you may want to search some of the discussions on this forum about this subject - as this may add to your research and the depth of your paper.

So... you will probably get some grumpy reactions as well, as some forum members tend to get upset by the mere use of the word tourist. Some will just ignore your post, and others may react irritated. No worries, it is just their way of welcoming new forum members.

 

[Tincatinker]

Have you discussed this questionnaire with your supervisor? I cannot see that the questions posed will provide any data that will enhance an understanding of modern pilgrimage. I could, genuinely, respond as strongly agree or strongly disagree to each question as posited.

I think you have confused pilgrimage and tourism.

Unless you are trying to establish the motivations of tourists visiting sites of pilgrimage in which case you have posed your question to the wrong audience.

 

[Tincatinker]

So... you will probably get some grumpy reactions as well, as some forum members tend to get upset by the mere use of the word tourist. Some will just ignore your post, and others may react irritated. No worries, it is just their way of welcoming new forum members.

Guilty as charged.

 

[SYates]

I am with @Tincatinker here and I would also strongly suggest that you do a pilgrimage first to actually see what it might be all about.
BC SY

 

[Deleted member 67185]

hi Sam,

Good luck with your research. I have filled in the survey, as I have no problem defining myself as a tourist who has been walking pilgrimages. You may be aware that the distinction between pilgrimage and tourism is very relevant for some people & you may want to search some of the discussions on this forum about this subject - as this may add to your research and the depth of your paper.

So... you will probably get some grumpy reactions as well, as some forum members tend to get upset by the mere use of the word tourist. Some will just ignore your post, and others may react irritated. No worries, it is just their way of welcoming new forum members.

I appreciate your thoughts, Marc. I know you were not intending to be dismissive of those of us who view pilgrimage and tourism as differing things. And I am certainly not 'grumpy' by virtue of voicing a viewpoint. But this issue is relevant to "some people" because there are distinguishing motivational differences between the two.

For example: I would never go on Pilgrimage if what I wanted to do was simply take in the sites, see famous places, and eat foreign foods. That such happens because I AM on a Pilgrimage is not the issue. . . those things are an unavoidable by-product of being a Pilgrim on Camino de Santiago, not the reason for going on a Pilgrimage.

On the other hand, there are individuals who are focused on being tourist - - - they want to see famous places, eat foreign foods, take in other cultures, and tic off boxes on a list of things they've seen and done. These are tourists who become pilgrims and do a pilgrimage as one method to do those things.

This last October and November when Jill and I were Pilgrims on the Camino Ingles, we both has religious and spiritual reasons for doing so. That was the reason we traveled to Spain.

After completing that Pilgrimage, we spent more than two weeks being tourists, while travelling around Europe by rental car. So the relevant question for me is this: "Would I have travelled to Europe to do a pilgrimage in order to also do the tourist stuff?" The answer is no. If it were not for my desire to walk as a Pilgrim, I would stay at home. I would not walk a Pilgrimage in order to do the tourist stuff.

There is nothing wrong with identifying the differences between tourists and pilgrims. This is not really an issue of a 'purity test' in the sense of declaring who has the right to walk a pilgrimage. It is a recognition that those who do a Pilgrimage for reasons of the spiritual or religious or metaphysical or philosophical, do so for those motivations, and not because it gives them an opportunity to see the sights.

 

[Sfroud]

hi Sam,

Good luck with your research. I have filled in the survey, as I have no problem defining myself as a tourist who has been walking pilgrimages. You may be aware that the distinction between pilgrimage and tourism is very relevant for some people & you may want to search some of the discussions on this forum about this subject - as this may add to your research and the depth of your paper.

So... you will probably get some grumpy reactions as well, as some forum members tend to get upset by the mere use of the word tourist. Some will just ignore your post, and others may react irritated. No worries, it is just their way of welcoming new forum members.

Thank you Marc for a warm welcome and filling in the survey, very kind of you.

In regards to the other members of this group, I'm really sorry if I have been ignorant, amateurish in my survey questions and upset anyone. It's absolutely not my wish at all. For any disgruntled members, allow me to give you some context further context..

Dissertation Title:
Tourists as Secular Pilgrims: Attendance & Alternatives to Traditional Pilgrimage and Religious Festival.

Research Questions

Are secular pilgrims changing the authentic meaning of traditional pilgrimage and religious festival sites?

What is the validity of tourist motivation models when contextualized to pilgrimage?

Are secular pilgrim typologies plausible substitutes for traditional pilgrimage in achieving intrinsic, authentic needs of an individual?


I love walking, outdoor per suits and was just exploring a topic/ research angle I thought was interesting to my Events Management course. I spent some time in Nepal last year, so perhaps that inspired some sentiment in choosing such a title!!
It was all made with harmless intentions I promise. I do not mean to make generalizations about tourists or pilgrims respectively.

 

[Sfroud]

I am with @Tincatinker here and I would also strongly suggest that you do a pilgrimage first to actually see what it might be all about.
BC SY

I'm trying to learn, hence my visit to you welcoming forum. Apologies.

 

[JennyH94]

Hi Sfroud -

Once again, welcome to the Forum. I’ve filled in the Survey and I wish you good results from a large research sample of Forum members.

Best of luck with the Survey and with your studies generally.

And, Buen Camino for next year ... you are going to love it!

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

 

[Sfroud]

Hi Sfroud -

Once again, welcome to the Forum. I’ve filled in the Survey and I wish you good results from a large research sample of Forum members.

Best of luck with the Survey and with your studies generally.

And, Buen Camino for next year ... you are going to love it!

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

Hey Jenny!

Thank you so much for you kind words and participation. Yes I absolutely will, especially after all this research!! All the best from the UK

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Thank you Marc for a warm welcome and filling in the survey, very kind of you.

In regards to the other members of this group, I'm really sorry if I have been ignorant, amateurish in my survey questions and upset anyone. It's absolutely not my wish at all. For any disgruntled members, allow me to give you some context further context..

Dissertation Title:
Tourists as Secular Pilgrims: Attendance & Alternatives to Traditional Pilgrimage and Religious Festival.

Research Questions

Are secular pilgrims changing the authentic meaning of traditional pilgrimage and religious festival sites?

What is the validity of tourist motivation models when contextualized to pilgrimage?

Are secular pilgrim typologies plausible substitutes for traditional pilgrimage in achieving intrinsic, authentic needs of an individual?


I love walking, outdoor per suits and was just exploring a topic/ research angle I thought was interesting to my Events Management course. I spent some time in Nepal last year, so perhaps that inspired some sentiment in choosing such a title!!
It was all made with harmless intentions I promise. I do not mean to make generalizations about tourists or pilgrims respectively.

Thank you for clarifying your intent.

Your survey asks a number of subjective questions, but I am left puzzled by how you can reach a conclusion to the questions in your post above.

If you admittedly have no background pursuing a pilgrimage for religious or spiritual reasons, which I am imagining may be part of your meaning of 'Traditional', how do you have a standard by which to assess the subjective answers of individuals in order to arrive at an objective determination to answer your questions above?

I sort of envision this sort of like asking folks about oranges and their taste, vs artificial orange flavors, but never having actually eaten an orange yourself. By what measure or standard do you separate subjective observations into meaningful information?

I mean, a lot of us on this Forum try to avoid the topic of defining "Traditional Pilgrim" because of the sense of inclusiveness this forum wishes to foster. I wonder if that might skew responses from Forum members a bit.

I walk a Pilgrimage for religious and spiritual reasons. The focus that the tourism marketing industry has on the Camino makes it harder for me to pursue this as the crowds become larger.

Or not. Maybe it is just a "word of mouth" or a "I want to do what they did in that movie" type of thing that has grown the Camino. Perhaps the Tourist Industrial Complex has no real bearing on growth at all.

The fact that it is hard to find a seat at the Pilgrim's Mass in Santiago de Compostela, or be able to have no concerns on alburgue bed space at the end of the day, or have quiet around me as I walk and meditate or pray or a thousand other things. . . . . in the end I have no clue as to WHY that is occurring; all I know is that it IS occurring.

But that is life, and it is what it is. You just deal with it, hopefully without casting a grumpy shadow along the way

Sorry to babble on like this. I am more curious than anything else, really. I do hope that you find the information that you are looking for.

 

[Texas Walker]

Among the other very good observations is the real and large difference between the Camino on foot (or bike if not rushed) and a bus trip that stops here and there and is aimed at spiritual ends but is rushed. And, yes, it is in the nature of guided bus trips that one tiptoes from high point to high point with no opportunity to penetrate deeper into the places. We went on a bus-type pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was very, very different from walking to Santiago. I venture to say that if, God willing, we walk the Liebaniego to Santo Toribio, making a short pilgrimage, it won't be much like the bus pilgrimage. Our OP perhaps needs to refine his topic more. And walk! Even if there is only time to go from Ponferrada to Santiago, walking the Way would be essential to understanding the topic adequately if the longer pilgrimage is to remain as part of the topic IMHO.

 

[C clearly]

In regards to the other members of this group, I'm really sorry if I have been ignorant, amateurish in my survey questions and upset anyone. It's absolutely not my wish at all. For any disgruntled members, allow me to give you some context further context..

Nobody is disgruntled or grumpy about this. @Marc S. planted that idea. We are enjoying the challenge of critiquing some questions that we find very puzzling or difficult to answer, even though they are somewhat related to our favourite topic in the world. It is interesting for us to do so, but I'm sorry that you are placed in an uncomfortable position! We certainly have sympathy for newcomers to these topics, and all of us have been students at some time.

Anyone who posts a poll here on the forum knows very well how the responses will elicit a lot of comments about logic and suggestions for re-wording. Surveys are really difficult! You can learn a lot about the art and science and hazards of surveys by considering our responses.

I would be really curious about how you will analyse the statistics and correlate the responses to answer the 3 specific research questions you listed. Will the conclusions actually be supported by the statistics, or will you need to do a lot of interpretation?

I found that I couldn't meaningfully answer several of your questions, particularly:

• "Have you traveled to a location to experience a novel state of being with like-minded people?" If I travel to experience a novel state, but choose solitary locations, how should I answer. Alternatively I want to be with like-minded people but don't know if my state is "novel."
• "Do you travel abroad ritually, for example every summer or at some point each calendar year?" Do you mean "regularly" or "periodically" rather than "ritually." I travel every year, the date depending on circumstances rather than ritual. How should I answer?
• Has the pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence been a motive for travel, such as: Nightlife or Creative Pursuits? Only those 2 options were available. Pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence does motivate me, but not through either of those examples. How should I answer?

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hello Everyone!!

My name is Sam, I'm a student writing a paper on tourist motivations in attending different types of pilgrimage.
I have created a short closed questionnaire that doesn't need any personal details. After completion you will not be contacted in any way.

Your participation in this survey will be of great value to research into the nature of pilgrimage in today's modern world.

Here is the link below.

Tourists Motivations in Attending Traditional & Contemporary Pilgrimage

This is an exploratory study into tourist motivations and their relationship to attending traditional or contemporary forms of pilgrimage. The information provided in this questionnaire is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998- part II and its exclusive use for the purpose of an...

docs.google.com

If you have any further questions about the research, you are welcome to contact me via my university e-mail: SF238670@falmouth.ac.uk

Thank you very much Merry Christmas!!!

Hi Sam,

I have answered the survey. Your questions made me think a lot before answering and ponder about exactly the things that some members mention here. I am glad to participate in this kind of research. I am sure you and your supervisor know how to best handle the results.

/BP

 

[John Sikora]

I've been reading the posts and I would tend to agree with many of them. I filled out the response but like others feel that:

1) You would have been better served by taking out the word tourists. Webster's defines a tourist as "one that makes a tour for pleasure or culture" I think that that includes pilgrims but most people would not define themselves strictly as a tourist who walked a Camino. You certainly don't walk it for "pleasure" (thinking of the leg pains and blisters). I suppose that we do walk it for culture in the broadest definition of the word.

2) Tourists, in my view, generally go somewhere with a somewhat unfocused intent, while pilgrims go for very specific reasons and are highly focused on those reasons. Just ask the forum participants whether you should reserve ahead or how far should you walk and you'll get responses that are highly integrated into their definition of a pilgrimage.

3) A pilgrimage in any sense isn't a "trip". The trip just gets you to the starting point of the pilgrimage.

4) When I look at the questions and see items that relate to music or sporting events, I tend to think that the survey is more skewed to the difference between the "tourist" in the vacation sense and the "tourist" in the agenda sense. If I traveled 4000 miles to see the Chicago Bears play in England, in a way that is a pilgrimage. It's a separation of trips into those that are for pleasure and those that are for a belief system. One is a vacation, the other is a pilgrimage. By asking forum members to fill this out, you'll definitely get the later skew.

Best of luck on your survey. I hope you'll send the results and conclusions back to those that filled it out or give us a link to look at.

 

[dougfitz]

I've been reading the posts and I would tend to agree with many of them. I filled out the response but like others feel that:

1) You would have been better served by taking out the word tourists. Webster's defines a tourist as "one that makes a tour for pleasure or culture" I think that that includes pilgrims but most people would not define themselves strictly as a tourist who walked a Camino. You certainly don't walk it for "pleasure" (thinking of the leg pains and blisters). I suppose that we do walk it for culture in the broadest definition of the word.

2) Tourists, in my view, generally go somewhere with a somewhat unfocused intent, while pilgrims go for very specific reasons and are highly focused on those reasons. Just ask the forum participants whether you should reserve ahead or how far should you walk and you'll get responses that are highly integrated into their definition of a pilgrimage.

3) A pilgrimage in any sense isn't a "trip". The trip just gets you to the starting point of the pilgrimage.

4) When I look at the questions and see items that relate to music or sporting events, I tend to think that the survey is more skewed to the difference between the "tourist" in the vacation sense and the "tourist" in the agenda sense. If I traveled 4000 miles to see the Chicago Bears play in England, in a way that is a pilgrimage. It's a separation of trips into those that are for pleasure and those that are for a belief system. One is a vacation, the other is a pilgrimage. By asking forum members to fill this out, you'll definitely get the later skew.

Best of luck on your survey. I hope you'll send the results and conclusions back to those that filled it out or give us a link to look at.

@John Sikora, we get this topic raised from time to time, and my response is that there isn't much support for suggesting pilgrims aren't tourists. You can find my contributions on this problem here and here. The UNWTO links have been broken, but a useful definition of tourism can be found in the UN WTO Technical Manual here.

I also don't think you would get much support on your view that a pilgrimage isn't a trip. I have linked an on-line dictionary definition, which isn't all that different from my Oxford's.

As for the questionnaire, it left me wondering whether the OP had ensured that those of us who might answer it would do so bounded by their pilgrimage experience, rather than the totality of their travelling. It wasn't clear to me whether that was the intent or not.

It was also unclear to me that the OP clearly understands that the study of tourism is to study a demand activity, and not one of supply. Let me explain. Iconic buildings, historic sites and natural wonders are not tourist destinations - the nature of these things don't define visiting them as tourism, it is whether the person who visits them is a tourist, rather than a 'local' that makes visiting them tourism. This is probably a fine point, and one not likely to be much in the minds of most people, but if the OP is seriously studying this subject as an academic discipline, one that is important.

 

[koilife]

The problem with the UNWTO definition on page 1 of the report, is that it is so broadly written as to be useless in this discussion because it effectively ignores motivation by including all motives. If I fly to another city for a business trip, that makes me a tourist under the UNWTO definition. Or, even better, under that definition, when my son goes into an area as a disaster relief worker, he's a tourist. And, if my other son is deployed to Afganistan for six months, he too is a tourist. I think not.

Part of the challenge, as I see it, is one of intention on the part of the so-called "tourist". When the primary intent of the "tourist" is religious or spiritual, then "pilgrim" seems to be the more accurate and appropriate description. This in no way negates the possibility that the "pilgrim" may have secondary intentions that are touristic in nature. That would apply equally to the soldier or disaster relief worker or any number of other purposes for which people go to a different place for a period of time.

I love wine and cafe con leche. I drink them at home, and I drink them while on pilgrimage. That I am in Spain doesn't make me suddenly change that part of my behavior, but under the UNWTO demand-side construct, drinking them in Spain makes me a tourist, while drinking them at home does not. However, neither wine nor cafe con leche are at all relevant to the question of why I am in Spain in the first place. I don't go to Spain for them, although I clearly relish them when I am there, and may even partake of them far more than at home. But I didn't go there there for them. In fact, the entire constellation of secondary motives, taken as a whole, do not change the primary motive as the determinate issue.

The real question of the UNWTO paper is about the money that comes into a location because people travel to it. As such, the question isn't even about people or motive, except that we are carriers of the money (a specific mean to the end). Buying remotely via catalog, distribution network, or online aren't means considered in the tourism classification (though I am certain there are other such studies for those scenarios, each of which also reduces people to means rather than ends).

Full disclosure: I browsed the paper, but didn't read it in detail. Possibly these issues are addressed and I didn't recognize it as I skimmed.

 

[dougfitz]

The UN WTO technical manual is quite clear that the definition agreed by the WTO '... goes beyond the common perception of tourism being limited to holiday activity only' and it seems to me that they might have made this statement because that concept was clearly challenging to some people at the time, and still is.

I love wine and cafe con leche. I drink them at home, and I drink them while on pilgrimage. That I am in Spain doesn't make me suddenly change that part of my behavior, but under the UNWTO demand-side construct, drinking them in Spain makes me a tourist, while drinking them at home does not.

I think this is topsy-turvy. You are not a tourist because you are drinking wine. You are a tourist because, presumably, Spain is a place outside of your normal environment. At that point, the wine you drink in Spain is provided as part of a tourist industry. When you drink wine at home, it is provided as part of the domestic economy of your region.

But I didn't go there there for them. In fact, the entire constellation of secondary motives, taken as a whole, do not change the primary motive as the determinate issue.

I suggest using motivation as the determinate issue would be fraught with methodological issues when collecting information. Great discussion point, but largely a philosophical nicety and of no practical value when trying to understand the impact of tourism on our societies.

The real question of the UNWTO paper is about the money that comes into a location because people travel to it. As such, the question isn't even about people or motive, except that we are carriers of the money (a specific mean to the end).

There is a clear statement that 'Tourism is considered an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational and economic sectors on national societies and their international relations.' So while this manual might have a strong technical focus, it is cast in a broader understanding of the benefits of tourism.

 

[koilife]

@dougfitz, the key issue in my mind is that we're using the same word (tourist) in different contexts, and that difference is so wide as to constitute distinct definitions.

The UNWTO definition of tourism is focused on the international monetary impact of travel. The discussion on these forums is almost always in the context of motive. I agree that measuring motive or intent is methodologically impractical, if not impossible, for purposes of economics. While it is of keen interest to chambers of commerce, it is quite irrelevant to the person making the decision to go or not to go. It is equally irrelevant to how the person perceives himself before, during, and after his camino.

My argument isn't with the UNWTO definition, just with it's application to forum discussions consumed with the question of motivation. It's irrelevant here, just as our endless churn on the pilgrim/tourist topic is "a philosophical nicety and of no practical value" to a chamber of commerce---provided we dutifully spend our dollars, drachmas, pounds, pesos, rupees and euros as we undertake our philosophical and impractical caminos .

 

[dougfitz]

@dougfitz, the key issue in my mind is that we're using the same word (tourist) in different contexts, and that difference is so wide as to constitute distinct definitions.

Unfortunately, many people here want to use the word tourist in some pejorative sense, one its normal usage and formal definitions clearly do not have, as if tourism and being a tourist is a somewhat less dignified or less worthy pursuit than undertaking a pilgrimage. This is just nonsense, but nonetheless there is not a lot that can be done to overcome this prejudice when it appears to have become deeply ingrained in some people feeling good about being pilgrims, and needing to distinguish themselves from other classes of travellers.

 

[koilife]

I get that. I am fine with being either, but I'm clear in my mind which is my primary motive. When I go on pilgrimage, that is my focus and intent. Although I might (and almost certainly will) visit "tourist" sites along the way (and drink too much wine and cafe con leche), those fringe benefits are always in service to my pilgrim aims. And, when I am being a tourist, I might visit a church, shrine, or other holy site, but that doesn't make me a pilgrim; the visit is merely a fringe benefit to my tourist aims.

I agree with you; there is nothing wrong with being a tourist---even while walking the Camino and referring to oneself as a pilgrim. I have met any number of people on the Camino who do not walk it for spiritual or religious reasons. That they call themselves pilgrims is ultimately irrelevant to me. They walk their walk for their reasons (and sometimes that is simply a moving party of friends), and I'll walk mine for my reasons. As long as there is reasonable mutual respect (and there mostly is), there's no real problem.

I personally find it difficult to be both at once and to shift back and forth. In May, I will spend four days as a tourist is Lisbon, but once I start walking, my focus will shift quickly and surely to that of pilgrimage. After reaching Santiago, I will shift back to tourist mode, stay a few days, and then walk out to the coast. Even though I'll walk after Santiago, I will not have the same "pilgrim" mindset as when I walked to Santiago.

Others may be able to flip-flop or keep one foot on the dock with the other on the boat; I'm just not built that way. They may even adopt very annoying holier-than-thou or smarter-than-thou attitudes, but so what? I have a hard enough time just keeping my own human nature in right order to worry about trying to order the rest of the world.

 

[dougfitz]

@koilife I think of these as being a nested set of properties, a bit like a Matryoshka doll. First I am a traveller, sometimes in another country to work, but more recently as a tourist. And as a tourist, when I am walking the Camino, or another Pilgrimage route, I think of myself as a pilgrim. If I am not walking on a Pilgrimage, I might be doing any number of things - sightseeing, visiting family and friends, attending some cultural events or tripping from place to place. I don't think that being a pilgrim and being a sightseer are different things, but part of the same thing, a traveller*.

* traveller in the general sense of someone who is travelling, not in any of the more specialised meanings of that word.

 

[Kathy F.]

Ugh.
I have told many people about my pilgrimages to SdC. Often, they will tell me that they did a pilgrimage to Santiago, too. Excitedly, I ask about their journey.
Alas, every one tells me that they were on a bus trip with their Parish to visit religious sites in Europe, they flew in from some other city to visit the cathedral, etc.
I've thought about why I think of that as tourism, not pilgrimage.
The best answer I can come with so far, is that a pilgrim accepts, from the outset, that there will be hardships and suffering. There will be fear (do i want to follow that stranger?) and there will be loss (my money! my passport!! my pants!!!).
The pilgrim determines that, in spite/because of it all, s/he will continue to be drawn to Santiago. Blisters, tendonitis, lack of cash, loneliness, all trials will be endured and welcomed.
No one goes on a tourist visit to endure unanticipated discomfort and suffering.
The pilgrim does.

 

[dougfitz]

I've thought about why I think of that as tourism, not pilgrimage.

I would take the view that their journeys could well have been just as much a pilgrimage as yours. Choosing to undertake the journey to SDC in a way that qualifies for a compostella puts you into a particular class of pilgrims, nothing more.

 

[koilife]

I don't think that being a pilgrim and being a sightseer are different things, but part of the same thing, a traveller*.

I like your framework much more with "traveller" as the superset rather than "tourist" (with all due deference to the utterly different interests of the UNWTO). Tourist, pilgrim, sightseer, soldier, relief worker, etc. are subsets that often overlap to greater or lesser degrees. And just like that, we've solved world hunger . . .

But all is not fine in Eden . . . the "Yank" in me would argue that "traveler" is the superset, not "traveller" . . . Then again, a good Kiwi friend is fond to remind me that I don't speak English, merely American.

 

[Kathy F.]

I would take the view that their journeys could well have been just as much a pilgrimage as yours. Choosing to undertake the journey to SDC in a way that qualifies for a compostella puts you into a particular class of pilgrims, nothing more.

I definitely didn't go to Santiago to collect a Compostelle, although I am proud of mine. That first time, I didn't really understand how much it would mean to me, until I actually had it in my hands!
I guess I still think a pilgrimage has to include a certain amount of physical effort and sacrifice. At least, that's what I think now. Wait until I'm too old to do it on my own and need to be driven around, haha.
Of course, I understand that traveling to a site that is very meaningful to you, be it a Church, a baseball stadium, a campground, can all be considered pilgrimages. Agreed. And I like the term "traveler."