José Ramón Arroyo Catalina
From recognition to strategy: The real challenge facing religious tourism in Spain
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José Ramón Arroyo Catalina
From recognition to strategy: The real challenge facing religious tourism in Spain
From time to time, studies, reports and headlines emerge ranking Spain among the world’s leading destinations for religious tourism. This is a positive assessment and, to a large extent, an understandable one. Our country boasts a remarkable combination of heritage, traditions, religious celebrations, pilgrimage routes and places of spirituality, with an appeal that few destinations can match.
However, rankings should serve more as a starting point than as a reason for complacency.
The real issue is not whether Spain ranks second, third or fourth in the world. The important question is whether we are managing this potential in a coordinated, responsible and sufficiently professional manner.
And in that respect, we still have considerable ground to cover.
A significant sector we still know too little about
Religious tourism attracts millions of people, yet it remains one of the most difficult segments of the tourism industry to measure. Not everyone who visits a cathedral, follows a pilgrimage route or attends a religious celebration considers themselves a religious tourist. Their motivations are often diverse: faith, culture, history, heritage, family tradition, curiosity, personal exploration, or simply the desire to experience something different.
This combination makes the segment particularly rich, but also more complex to analyse. We need a better understanding of who these visitors are, how they plan their journeys, how long they stay in a destination, which services they use, and what they expect to find. Without sufficiently accurate data, it is difficult to design appropriate tourism products, manage visitor flows, or assess the true economic, social and cultural impact of this activity.
Before proclaiming ourselves a leading destination, we should make progress towards more rigorous and consistent measurement.
Heritage does not manage itself
Spain possesses exceptional resources, but their mere existence does not guarantee a satisfactory visitor experience. In some places, opening hours are still difficult to find, information is outdated, heritage interpretation is limited, accessibility remains an issue, or links with the surrounding tourism services are weak.
This is not about turning religious sites into conventional tourist attractions. Their greatest value lies precisely in the fact that they retain a spiritual, communal and cultural function that must be respected. But respect and effective tourism management are not incompatible.
A well-informed visitor is better able to understand the significance of a place, respect its rules and appreciate more deeply what they are experiencing. Proper visitor management and hospitality can help protect heritage, foster harmonious coexistence and generate resources for its conservation.
From isolated initiatives to a shared vision
There are excellent projects throughout Spain. Dioceses, public authorities, religious brotherhoods, foundations, municipalities, associations and tourism businesses have developed routes, interpretation centres, celebrations, cultural programmes and experiences of considerable value. The problem is that many of these initiatives operate independently of one another.
We are often very familiar with what is happening in our own territory, yet remain unaware of similar projects being developed in other autonomous communities or countries. This leads to duplication of efforts, missed opportunities and an overly fragmented approach to promotion.
We do not need to standardise destinations. Diversity is, in fact, one of the great strengths of religious tourism. What we do need is a greater capacity to share knowledge, build connections and develop complementary projects. Working as part of a network does not diminish individual identity. It strengthens it and enables each destination to achieve greater reach and impact.
The role of the World Religious Tourism Network
In this context, the World Religious Tourism Network (RMTR) can provide particularly valuable support. The RMTR should not be understood merely as a platform for promoting destinations. Its greatest strength lies in its ability to bring together public institutions, religious communities, businesses, universities, associations and professionals who would otherwise tend to work within separate spheres.
These connections make it possible to compare experiences, identify best practices and develop projects that would be difficult to create through isolated action. The Network can also help establish a common language around religious tourism: sustainability, authenticity, hospitality, accessibility, conservation and local impact. These concepts need to be translated into specific criteria and practical working models that can be applied across destinations.
The aim is not to determine who has the greatest heritage assets or attracts the largest number of visitors. It is about improving the way we manage, interpret and communicate that heritage.
An opportunity for local communities and destinations
Religious tourism can play an important role in diversifying Spain’s tourism offering, particularly beyond the major urban centres. Many places of worship, monasteries, pilgrimage routes and religious celebrations are located in small municipalities or rural areas. When properly planned and managed, this form of tourism can support local commerce, restaurants, accommodation providers, craftspeople and guiding services, while also helping to distribute visitor flows more evenly throughout the year.
For these benefits to materialise, however, local residents must be involved. No strategy will be sustainable if the local population perceives tourism as something disconnected from their community, or if the economic benefits leave the territory. Religious tourism must be developed with communities, not simply around them.
More than a position in a ranking
Spain has more than enough credentials to be regarded as an international benchmark in religious tourism. There is no need to exaggerate this reality or turn it into a constant competition with other destinations.
True recognition will come when we are able to offer well-managed experiences that respect religious spaces, are connected to their surrounding territories and deliver tangible value to local communities. That is the work that lies ahead.
Through the World Religious Tourism Network, we can help organise and expand knowledge, connect stakeholders and transform successful individual initiatives into shared opportunities. Because the future of religious tourism will depend not only on the richness of the heritage we have inherited, but also on the intelligence, respect and collaboration with which we choose to manage it.
Author: José Ramón Arroyo Catalina
National Coordinator for Spain, World Religious Tourism Network
The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this document and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of Tourism and Society Think Tank and do not commit the Organization, and should not be attributed to TSTT or its members.
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