Taking Catholics on pilgrimages has become a profitable business for several Slovak travel agencies. While major holiday operators employ large teams and spend millions on wages, specialist companies rely partly on priests who accompany travellers without payment and parishes that help attract customers.
Three such agencies – Awertravel, Awertour and Trinity – reported profit margins of between 11% and 16% in 2025, compared with single-digit margins at major operators including Hydrotour and Der Touristik SK.
All three also ranked among Slovakia’s fastest-growing travel agencies between 2022 and 2025, according to figures compiled by business data portal Valida.
Religious travel agencies have an advantage that conventional holiday companies cannot easily replicate: access to established communities of potential customers through Catholic parishes.
“Our guides are exclusively priests, because otherwise it would be a sightseeing trip rather than a pilgrimage,” Awertour owner Vladimir Mastrla said.
He said the priests received no payment for their services. They lead Masses, prayers and confession, while parishes help publicise trips among worshippers.
The agencies also operate with relatively small teams. Trinity, based in Kosice in eastern Slovakia, reported just four employees and wage costs of EUR 48,500 last year. Hydrotour, by comparison, employed 102 people and spent almost EUR 6 million on wages.
Renata Kiselicova of Centire, the company behind Valida, attributed the agencies’ high margins to their specialised market and efficient operations.
The Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, traditionally celebrated every 25 years, provided a further boost in 2025. The event draws pilgrims to Rome, where Catholics can obtain indulgences under Church rules.
Trinity organised charter flights from Kosice to Rome, with Italian destinations accounting for 80% of its revenue. Its annual sales rose by 135%, to EUR 2.6 million, while profit increased sevenfold.
Awertravel, based in Senica in western Slovakia, increased revenue by 64%, to EUR 8.4 million. Awertour, headquartered in Stupava near Bratislava, reported revenue of EUR 4.8 million, up by EUR 2 million, while profit climbed by 374%, to EUR 334,000.
The results followed a weaker 2024, when the war in Gaza disrupted pilgrimages to Israel.
Although most customers are religious, non-believers also join the trips. Mastrla said around 90% of Awertour’s clients were practising believers, with spouses and relatives sometimes travelling alongside them.
Pilgrimages can also be competitively priced. SME reported that a five-day flight-inclusive trip to Fatima in Portugal cost EUR 790 outside the summer season, compared with EUR 860 to EUR 1,300 for advertised sightseeing packages, although the services included may differ. (The Slovak Spectator)