Pilgrimages assumed a crucial importance in the Middle Ages and in the religious history in general, having always mobilized thousands of people worldwide. Travel in general and movements for religious reasons still assume an extraordinary relevance in the tourist sector, providing an important contribution to regional and local development involving sacred places, creating value and benefiting local populations. Thematic tourism routing is a component of the offer (endogenous resources transformed into attractions), planned from the local (local circuit) to the global (international route).
In this work, aspects related to travel and pilgrimages in the Middle Ages are described, namely the motivations, the dangers to which travelers were exposed, the actors involved in the protection of pilgrims and the development of some services. In this medieval context some religious-military orders assumed a relevant role at a socioeconomic level, as this legacy is currently a collection in constant exploration, namely through the narratives of religious tourism.
The dangers that traveling represented at the time led to transformations that still mark our reality, not only in what concerns the market segment related to religious tourism in sacred places, but also the development of characteristic and related to tourism activities, such as accommodation and the international banking system.
Therefore, the Templar-themed pilgrimage, in its broadest sense, has its origins in the twelfth century and justifies tourist routing processes that reinforce and qualify the religious tourism.