Pilgrimage Tourism, Accessibility and Local Communities in Western Countries. The Camino de Santiago de Compostela and the via Francigena for All

Abstract

Western Pilgrimage Routes are renowned worldwide for their beauty, diversity and historical significance. Millions of people visit them every year but many others feel unwelcome due to physical barriers and inadequate services, which can prevent people with sensory or physical disabilities from accessing them. This limitation affects 60 million European citizens and over 300 million potential international tourists with specific needs (Eurostat, 2019). The aim of this paper is to show how Pilgrimage Routes can be an example of tourism for everyone, in particular for users with sensory disabilities (blind and vision-impaired). Given the overload of visual stimuli in today’s world, this objective may appear highly ambitious. Nevertheless, visual culture does not depend on the images themselves but the multi-level representation of the experience. The in-depth analysis will begin by looking at the European intervention framework, especially the strategies and measures by which the European Commission seeks to boost accessible tourism. Using a qualitative methodology, the study explores the objectives of certain initiatives (with their associated activities) that are helping to make Pilgrimage Routes real community experiences by improving tourist accessibility for the blind and vision-impaired. Starting from the experience of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the Via Francigena in Italy, the research will examine good practices in Europe in order to provide useful information for planning sustainable and resilient tourism for all.