Motivations and meanings for Camino pilgrims

ABSTRACT

While increasing in popularity, pilgrimages appear to be blurring their distinction with tourism. This research investigates the motivations and meanings behind contemporary pilgrimages along the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the Chemin de Saint Jacques in France. Using both face-to-face interviews and Facebook postings, several motivations and outcomes were identified. First, these pilgrimages often served as a rite of passage. Second, the journey provided an opportunity to disconnect from regular routines to embrace a simpler, slower pace of life. Third, pilgrims fostered a sense of connection to nature and to fellow humans. Fourth, most pilgrims derived a sense of accomplishment from their journey. Finally, for many pilgrims this journey became a part of their personal identity, and many memorialized their pilgrimage through memorabilia or tattoos. Overall, understanding the benefits of leisure is important to understand the benefits that experiences can provide to participants.

KEYWORDS:

• Camino
• identity
• motivations
• pilgrimage

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a grant from the Dhillon School of Business

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Lethbridge: [Dhillon School of Business Distinguished Scholar Award].

Notes on contributors

Michael Basil

Michael Basil (Ph.D. Stanford University, 1992) is Professor Emeritus of Marketing at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. His interest is in leisure time activities. Mike is also a backpacker who hiked the Muir Trail in 1979, 1982, 1988 and 2016, walked the Camino Primitivo in 2018 and the Chemin Le Puy in 2022 and 2023.