At the tourist office, it's time to take stock for hikers taking the GR 65.
The Decazeville community eco-meter, located on the Chemin de Saint-Jacques (GR 65) at the entrance to our destination in the town of Firmi, has just delivered its latest data. They were monitored and analyzed by the community tourism office. For the year 2024, 16,663 walkers were recorded, a slight drop of 6% compared to 2023. The busiest months being, as usual, May and September. The peak of passages was noted during Ascension Week in May with, on certain days, more than 150 hikers who set foot on the eco-meter slabs.
“The economic and cultural interest of the Via Podiensis, marked GR 65, no longer needs to be demonstrated. This route is of considerable importance for the territories it crosses by generating income for the entire tourist economic sector as well as accommodation, catering but also shops and services On a cultural level, this path reveals to walkers the traditions, history, heritage specificities, landscapes, specialties of the regions concerned.report the hostesses of the tourist office.
Distant origins
The foreign walkers welcomed last season in the Decazeville tourist office show the global aura of this legendary route. Among the most distant origins welcomed, we will note China, Australia, Colombia, Taiwan, New Zealand, the USA and even Japan.
The motivations of these modern-day hikers are diverse (spiritual, sporting, inner quests, encounters, reconnection, etc.) and combine to give a very particular meaning to this path, which is often summarized by the expression “ the spirit of the path”.
The main requests made by the pilgrim-hikers who enter the doors of the Decazeville office concern the stamp for their travel log called “credencial” (two personalized stamps are offered to them, one with the miner's lamp and the other representing one of Gustave Moreau's Stations of the Cross paintings). Then come requests for transport (bus, train, taxi, mail coach, etc.), reservations for accommodation and searches for shops/services in the city.
