The Way of Sant James

• The Turismo de Galicia director and the archbishop of Santiago, Monsignor Julián Barrio, attended the opening of the new pilgrim hostel in Milladoiro, Ames
• Last year, almost 50,000 pilgrims chose this route, and so far this year, it is the number two route in terms of pilgrims, behind only the French Route
  
  

This afternoon, Turismo de Galicia Director Nava Castro attended the opening of the pilgrim hostel in the locality of Milladoiro, Ames. This new addition to the pilgrimage route infrastructure will offer lodging and services for pilgrims travelling the Portuguese Route, which has now established itself as the second most travelled route.

Accompanied by the archbishop of Santiago, Monsignor Julián Barrio, Nava Castro toured the facilities at the new hostel. She stated that it will be ‘essential’ for the pilgrims who choose this route, as well as the locality of O Milladoiro, which has a strong connection with the pilgrimage to Santiago and is located on a route with ‘extraordinary cultural and scenic wealth’.

Almost 50,000 pilgrims in 2016

Nava Castro noted that the Portuguese Route is establishing itself as one of the most popular routes. Last year, it was chosen by almost 50,000 pilgrims, representing 17.3% of the total number welcomed by Galicia in 2016. And the trend has continued into the present year. So far, almost 1,000 pilgrims have already reached Compostela by way of Milladoiro on the Portuguese Route, accounting for more than 24% of the total.

The Turismo de Galicia director reminded those in attendance of her department’s commitment to promoting each one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago for the future of Galicia, referring to the Way of St. James Master Plan as ‘the management tool which lays out the guidelines necessary to ensure the conservation and protection of the Camino in Galicia’.

She noted that under this plan, Turismo de Galicia has already implemented various actions, including signage to adapt the various pilgrimage routes to their official delimitation, the creation of provincial committees for the Caminos, rolling out Wi-Fi service at the Public Hostel Network and the protocol signed between the Xunta and the Santiago City Council to better integrate the routes into their surroundings along the approaches to the city of Compostela, among many others.