The Way of Sant James

The director of Galicia Tourism, Nava Castro, underscored that the creation of the Institutional Chair of the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages will yield advances in the knowledge and study of the Way of St. James, “key to the economic and social development of Galicia”, and will be essential to providing higher quality tourist attractions. The director made these statements on the occasion of the signing of the partnership agreement to establish the Chair, which featured the President of the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Juan Manuel Viaño, and the Dean of the Cathedral of Santiago, Según Peréz.

Nava Castro said that, as reflected in the signed agreement, Galicia Tourism will contribute 40,000 euros to help start up this Chair. This is in addition to the investments already made in the International Pilgrim’s Welcome Center in Carretas, which is where the Chair will be based.

The tourism director explained that the Way of St. James is Galicia’s leading tourist attraction, and that in 2016, more than 277,500 pilgrims made their way to Compostela, 6% more than during the same period in 2015 and surpassing the numbers for the last Holy Year. As a result, this Chair is of particular importance since, as the director stated, it will promote research, education and awareness of the Way of St. James and of pilgrimages.

Nava Castro underscored Galicia Tourism’s commitment to those initiatives that, like this Chair, result in high-level training for directing and planning tourism activities, companies and agencies, and for experts who wish to focus their careers on researching the Way of St. James, thus turning Galicia, in the director’s words, “into an even more competitive destination”.

Nava Castro also noted that the creation of this Chair provides a response to the historical demands of the Way itself, and that it is one of the goals of the Master Plan for the Way of St. James.

Activities of the Chair
The Institutional Chair of the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages will promote the dissemination of the values associated with pilgrimages and the phenomenon of the Way of St. James by holding courses, seminars, conferences and academic activities. It will also sponsor the organization of those initiatives that contribute to a cultural and academic reflection and debate on topics involving the Way of St. James in an effort to enhance our knowledge and to improve cultural and university training in this area.

The Chair will also promote cooperation with university professors and departments in any way that favors the comprehensive education of students. It will also encourage field research on the Way of St. James and on pilgrimages to Compostela, and the publication of said research in journals and other media so as to make it available to a wide audience.

Another notable aspect is that this Chair will create and maintain a bibliographic and documentary archive on subjects pertaining to the Way of St. James and its related disciplines. This archive will also provide job placement services to university students so that the culture of the Way of St. James can be increasingly associated with higher learning.