WHO ARE WE ?

The Compostela Pilgrim Ways Agency (Agence des Chemins de Compostelle)

The Compostela Pilgrim Ways Agency is an Association, set up according to the French law of 1901 and bringing together professional, lay, public-private and cultural bodies. It was registered with the Haute-Garonne Prefecture on 2nd February 1990. It corresponds to the desire of public authorities to share a common policy of territorial development based on culture and tourism. It is at the service of the Santiago routes and of the various, ever more numerous, publics which use them.

Since 2015, the Agency has been working with the State under a Convention designed to set up and manage the Network of proprietors, managers and stakeholders of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed entity "Chemins de Saint Jacques de Compostelle en France" (The Saint James' Ways in France).

The President of the Agency is John Palacin, Regional Councillor of Occitanie. It brings together various levels of regional and local government : Regional and Départemental Councils, local authorities (communes or groupings of communes), accommodation providers, Tourist Offices, associations promoting the St. James' Way or local development, plus qualified personnel.

The Agency's Role

• Promoting sustainable development through long-distance walking, riding or cycling, and through cultural tourism on the ways to Santiago de Compostela
• Supporting the social, inter-cultural or intergenerational links formed thanks to these modes of travel
• Passing on the values linked to the cultural heritage of the Saint James' Ways
• Making this heritage better known, bringing it to life and conserving it in order to hand it on
• Ensuring consistency between the actions, initiatives and projects regarding these paths which are recognised as a Cultural Itinerary by the Council of Europe
• Enabling the network of stakeholders and proprietors of the Unesco World Heritage Listed entity "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle en France" to function effectively

The Agency's Functions

• Assisting those with projects in the domains of culture or tourism through advice or training
• Providing expertise in development of the theme, at the request of institutions, associations and individuals
• Training for organisations or authorities which request it
• Spreading information via publications, editorial partnerships, exhibitions and cultural activities
• Providing information to the general public, professionals and the mediaSetting up a documentary resource centre
• Educating and working closely on the ground with the proprietors and managers of the Unesco World Heritage Listed entity "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle en France"
• Creating tools which can be used by all parties in developing and managing the Unesco World Heritage Listed entity "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle en France"

Useful documents

The statutes
The administrators