Experimental tourism: How Camino de Santiago became a success
The Camino de Santiago didn't just happen. While it is an ancient pilgrimage route, it was nowhere near this popular originally. Or at any point before the 21st century.
It is instead the deliberate work by Spanish and Galician authorities, the Catholic Church, and tourism bodies over the decades. They saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Camino de Santiago tourism is as much a case study in regional planning and economic soft power as it is a travel story.
A route that needed reviving
By the mid-20th century, the Camino was actually fading. Few pilgrims were walking on it and the infrastructure was crumbling. The turning point was when Santiago de Compostela's old town was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, and the Council of Europe declared the Camino the first ever European Cultural Route in 1987. It gave Galicia's regional government (the Xunta) something to build on. It was worth applying for.
So they did. Holy Years (when 25th July falls on a Sunday) became a marketing opportunity, to some degree. The 1993 Holy Year saw a coordinated push from the Xunta to restore hostels and improve signage. They began promoting the route abroad as a form of experimental tourism. Pilgrim numbers that year jumped, and it wasn’t luck or coincidence.
Proof it worked: From niche trail to record breaker
The results speak for themselves. By late 2023, pilgrim numbers were on track to smash the previous annual record of 438,300, with arrivals pouring in from France, Portugal, and Spain, it has been on a climb year on year. Santiago de Compostela has become so popular, in fact, that local officials are considering introducing a tourist tax, with the mayor reportedly keen for the city to stop feeling like "just a tourist destination and a theme park."
It’s quite extraordinary when we think that this is a medieval pilgrimage route. Not Disneyland or a mega-city, but an ancient walking trail, and it’s now popular enough to trigger overtourism debates. They done what they set out to do - and more!
The Sarria stretch and the rise of organised travel
Most of this growth funnels into specific routes, like final 100km from Sarria, which is the standout. It’s short enough for beginners but long enough to earn the Compostela.
Specialist operators have made other Camino routes increasingly accessible too as they handle logistics that once put casual walkers off entirely. In fact, it is these agencies that gave it a mass appeal to those who didn’t have time to research their multi-day trail (a lot of planning is involved). It became a (mostly) one-price package purchase. Yet unlike most package holidays, it's much more sustainable and dignified.
Why life sent people back to the trail
This is not Dubai Chocolate - the craving for Camino is far from manufactured. Screen fatigue is real and people are craving slowness and physical effort. Gym memberships are rising, birdwatching is becoming popular, and hiking is now an exceptionally normal hobby to have (unlike 15 years ago). A multi day walk with no signal and a clear daily goal is basically the exact opposite of modern life.
The Camino offered something that already existed, at exactly the moment people started desperately wanting it. Good timing, good infrastructure, and a good story.
