Multi-stakeholder governance for religious tourism and pilgrimage routes in Europe

The chapter discusses the multi-stakeholder coordination needed to manage transnational pilgrimage routes, with particular emphasis on the relationship between three key actors: public bodies, religious institutions and pilgrimage routes management associations. It is argued that these relationships can shape the ability of pilgrimage routes to act as catalysts for local development and territorial cohesion across European rural areas. To this end, the authors carry out an overview of pilgrimage routes, policies and governance frameworks in Europe and then focus on a specific case study: The Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, with the three main faith-led routes traversing the region towards Rome: Via Francigena, Via Romea Germanica and Romea Strata. The chapter concludes that collaboration among the three key players should be strengthened since they have complementary objectives to fulfil through pilgrimage. Moreover, a collaborative governance framework for European pilgrimage routes is required, to favour coordination among actors at several and intersecting levels.