Abstract

JUAREZ SANCHEZ, José Pedro; RAMIREZ VALVERDE, Benito  and  MOTA VARGAS, José Alejandro. Do rural pilgrimages boost local development? Analysis of San Miguel del Milagro, Tlaxcala, Mexico. El periplo sustentable [online]. 2017, n.33, pp.428-451. ISSN 1870-9036.

During the last decade there has been a transition in the tourist patterns moving from traditional to alternative. This reflects in the behavior of touristic offer and demand including the field of religious tourism, specially the pilgrimages as part of cultural tourism. Information was obtained by interviewing the pilgrims who attended the sanctuary of San Miguel del Milagro Tlaxcala. It was found that the pilgrimage is regional, with an average accommodation of 1.1 days and mainly by young people with low incomes and low educational level. The main reason for the pilgrims to go to the sanctuary was to receive a miracle, little more than half went walking or bicycling. The economic benefit obtained per pilgrim was low ($608.60 in average), the main expense was transportation and in a less degree the buying of offerings, meals and the money spent in the journey. They didn´t pay for accommodation. It is concluded that pilgrimages help to increase the sales around the sanctuary and that it is necessary to promote a longer stay of the pilgrims as well as having products related to religious faith respecting their culture and traditions.

Keywords : Pilgrimages; economic benefit; rural territorial development.

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