Foot-pilgrims and backpackers: contemporary ways of travelling

Both foot-pilgrimage along the Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela and backpacker’s trails represent modern forms of travel that have boomed over the past 25 years, challenging traditional stereotypes. While pilgrims are often seen as devout individuals with religious motives and backpackers as pleasure-seeking globetrotters, this study reveals significant similarities between these two ways of traveling. Both involve an exterior journey that correlates with an inner transformation, such as increased self-confidence or personal insights, occurring on an individual rather than social level. Unlike traditional rites de passage, these journeys lack fixed starting or ending points and are self-imposed, serving as a means to escape daily routine and societal pressure while seeking personal change or improvement.

Mendel, T. (2010). Foot-pilgrims and backpackers: contemporary ways of travelling. Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, 22, 288–315. https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67372