The Spaniards, Italians and English have returned to Lourdes, rejoices Pascale Fourticq, director of the Lourdes Tourist Office
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The 149th edition of the Lourdes pilgrimage takes place from August 11 to 16. “We are delighted because European customers are back”, said Monday August 15 on franceinfo Pascale Fourticq, director of the Lourdes Tourist Office. Thousands of pilgrims go there today on the occasion of the Assumption.
“Italians, Spaniards, English have been returning for about a month”she explains. “Obviously we have French people, but the Europeans are back, even if it is in an even lower volume than in the years before the crisis”.
Compared to the attendance figures for 2019, that is to say before the health crisis, “we find a very significant presence of tourists who sometimes come for a day or for longer stays”adds Pascale Fourticq.
Some 15,000 people, according to the direction of the sanctuary of Lourdes, participated Sunday, on the eve of a mass of the Assumption, in a torchlight procession to the glory of the Virgin Mary. More than 1.5 million faithful are expected in this year 2022.