Pilgrimage as tourism experience: the case of the Ignatian Way

Résumé

Millions of pilgrims travel every year to a variety of sanctuaries and religious sites (Robles, 2001), and the religious motivation to travel, which has been researched from diverse perspectives (Griffin, 2007) is one of the most ancient motivations. It is widely recognised that the religious tourist is often a more loyal type of traveller, characterised by shorter but recurrent stays to the destination (Robles, 2001). However, ‘religious tourism’ is sometimes confusing and difficult to classify (Griffin, 2007) and the dichotomy of secular and spiritual tourism needs further clarification (Nolan and Nolan, 1992; Millán et al., 2010). Data from the route to Santiago de Compostela shows ‘religion’ as the main motivation to peregrinate, but some pilgrims (8.63%) claim to have no faith motivation at all. Therefore, following the definition of pilgrim as religious tourist, this set of travellers on The Way could not be classified as pilgrims (Millan et al., 2010). Similarly, visitors to heritage sites along religious routes could be classified as cultural tourists, and would therefore be displaced from religion.This study analyses the different types of religious tourism (Nolan and Nolan, 1992), to deeper understand the interconnections between shared sacred and secular spaces more in depth (Raj and Griffin, 2015). The empirical approach is based on the emerging phenomena of Spanish pilgrims re-creating the journey made by Ignatius of Loyola, from his home (Basque Country) to Montserrat and Manresa (Catalonia). Fieldwork involved personal interviews with stakeholders and pilgrims of the Ignatian Way versus visitors to Ignatius related heritage, allowing to get deeper understanding of the visitor profile in order to explore his novelty. Data are analysed through a qualitative methodology (interview) understood as a method to represent thoughts and to respond to conceptualisation needs.