It is difficult to find arguments against pilgrimage in terms of what could be done in the time taken up by the trip, because pilgrimages do not take a long time now. A person’s life could be dramatically changed by a pilgrimage and it could make them view the world in a completely different way, after only a few days of devotion to God.
In defence of pilgrimage, it has happened for a very long time, since the start of the Christian faith, even though there is no reference to it in the Bible. Some branches of the Christian church, particularly the Roman Catholic church, judge matters on the Bible and on church traditions, which would make pilgrimage a good thing for the one reason that it has been going on for so long.
There are also many reasons why pilgrimage is not considered a necessary thing for Christians to embark on. Some would argue that Christians’ time should be spend helping people, preaching and encouraging other to adopt Christians beliefs. Some Protestants would also say that there is no real evidence of pilgrimage in the Bible, so it is not a Christian idea and should not happen.
With the exception perhaps of the Holy Land, sites of pilgrimage are defined sometimes by only one witness who claims to have had a vision or a miracle. These sources cannot always be trusted, which makes some Christians critical of Pilgrimage. Others would argue, however, that the truth of pilgrimage sites is backed up by frequent miracles there. Some would even go further and say that is does not matter whether or not a place of pilgrimage has a relationship to God, as long as Christians visiting it feel close to God on their pilgrimages. If a Christian believes that the place they are visiting is associated with God, and they feel God is present there, this can be beneficial to them even if the place has never been the site of a miracle and does not have any association with God.
Another problem with pilgrimage is that it could potentially give people wrong ideas about the Christian faith. Many non-Christians visiting Christian places of pilgrimage do so to be physically healed, which might make them think of Christianity as just a way to make them better.
Some would argue that in principle there is nothing wrong with pilgrimage, but what they object to is what pilgrimage means now. Not that long ago pilgrimage meant walking thousands of miles to a lonely place to be close to God, and as a symbolic act of devotion to him. Now, a pilgrim can go on a package tour and fly everywhere by place, and the tour can take less than a week so they can do other things. This takes the element of devotion out of pilgrimage slightly.
I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with pilgrimage. It is not a major commitment now, and the benefits to be had from pilgrimage are many. However, I also believe that the Holy Land would definitely be the best place to visit on a pilgrimage if it is possible because of its mention in the Bible and because of strong historical evidence that Jesus lived and performed miracles there.