What are the motivational factors that inspires pilgrims to do the Camino
Just over a third of those who walk the Camino de Santiago confess to do so for religious reasons, according to a report by the Institute of Tourism Studies of Galicia. This report highlights that 50.28 percent of pilgrims claim spiritual reasons to make this journey, but only a 38.10 percent confess having true religious motivations. The Camino de Santiago has been walked for centuries by pilgrims, who travel to this holy city where according to a legend, the remains of the Apostle St James have been buried. One out of three pilgrims confesses that their additional target is to reach Finisterre after Santiago de Compostela, that is where pilgrims traditionally leave their boots and burn their clothes before returning home. These studies have also shown that just over half of the pilgrims travelling the Camino are from Spain, and the rest are mainly from other European countries, where the influence of religion has lost weight in the last decades. According to the Inst
