Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
An unconventional form of tourism, the Camino de Santiago is a religious pilgrimage that takes tourists through diverse terrains across both rural and urban areas of Spain and Portugal, culminating at the Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. With growing popularity in recent years, pilgrims’ environmental footprint and their impact on local communities have become more noticeable (Whitaker, 2025). The objective of this paper is to investigate the environmental consciousness of contemporary pilgrims and how they perceive their impact on local communities. The research specifically focuses on the perspectives of pilgrims on the Portuguese Coastal Route of the Camino de Santiago between Porto, Portugal and Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This research contributes to a growing body of work concerned with sustainability in religious and cultural tourism. Assessment took place over the course of the twelve-day pilgrimage, through a series of twelve interviews. Participants were asked how their environmental attitudes compare to the majority perspectives in their home countries, what actions they take to minimize ecological impact, and how they reflect on the broader consequences of pilgrimage tourism for both the natural environment and local communities. Using the data from twelve interviews in tandem with existing literature, it was concluded that pilgrims perceive themselves as having higher than average environmental awareness, and a neutral to positive impact on local communities and environments along the Portuguese Coastal route of the Camino de Santiago.
Recommended Citation
Hubbard, Ella S., "Sacred Path, Shared Burden: Pilgrim Perspectives on Sustainability and Impact on the Camino de Santiago" (2025). Portugal: Sustainability and Environmental Justice. 8.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/por/8