Santiago De Compostela Faces Historic Challenges: How Overtourism And Housing Prices Are Transforming The City

Published on September 14, 2025

Santiago de Compostela, a metropolis profoundly intertwined pinch hundreds of years of belief tradition, is confronting nan unit of an overwhelming influx of visitors. Known worldwide for being nan endpoint of nan Camino de Santiago, a renowned visit making love backmost to nan 9th century, nan city’s rich | practice is now being overshadowed by nan challenges brought connected by tourism. This surge has transformed nan very cloth of nan community, pinch residents expressing vexation complete nan disappearance of their measurement of life, nan escalation of lodging costs, and nan nonaccomplishment of taste authenticity successful their historical streets.

A Friendlier Approach to Tourism

While immoderate cities for illustration Barcelona person resorted to utilizing integrative h2o pistols to deter unwanted tourists, nan vicinity relation successful Santiago de Compostela took a gentler attack to addressing nan rumor of overtourism. They created a guide, translated into aggregate languages, intended to pass visitors astir nan dos and don’ts erstwhile exploring nan city. The guideline was distributed wide passim nan historical municipality and among nan expanding number of hostels catering to pilgrims and visitors alike. The guidelines included elemental but important requests for illustration lowering sound levels, adhering to postulation rules, and utilizing protective caps connected hiking poles to forestall harm to nan constrictive cobblestone streets.

However, contempt these well-meaning efforts, nan results person been minimal. Tourists proceed to flood nan streets, often successful ample groups, singing hymns and disregarding section customs. Bicycles are seen riding against nan travel of traffic, and nan sound of metallic rod tips clattering against nan pavement disrupts nan different serene ambiance of nan aged town. Locals person taken to societal media to sound their dissatisfaction, posting pictures that item nan deficiency of respect for nan city’s taste norms and nan harm being caused to its historical infrastructure.

The Growing Pressure of Overtourism

The existent issue, however, lies successful nan sheer number of visitors descending connected Santiago de Compostela. The aged town, erstwhile nan beating bosom of nan organization and nan attraction of section life for complete a millennium, has been overtaken by outsiders. This influx of tourists, peculiarly those arriving to locomotion nan Camino de Santiago, has resulted successful a gradual displacement of residents. In fact, nan increasing number of visitors has been straight linked to nan expulsion of section inhabitants, arsenic they struggle to support their beingness successful a metropolis that is becoming progressively dominated by tourism.

Roberto Almuíña, president of nan vicinity relation successful nan historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, said candidly astir nan situation. He explained that Santiago de Compostela had ever embraced tourism, but erstwhile nan numbers go excessively overmuch to bear, it triggers a backlash. “We do not person tourism-phobia,” Almuíña clarified. “We person ever lived successful harmony pinch tourism, but erstwhile it gets retired of hand, erstwhile nan unit goes beyond what is reasonable, that is erstwhile rejection arises.”

The Impact of Pilgrimages and Modern Tourism

The Camino de Santiago has a rich | humanities legacy, pinch pilgrims stepping various routes to scope nan cathedral lodging nan reputed tomb of Saint James nan Apostle. Over time, nan visit routes, which span crossed Portugal and France, person attracted millions of travelers from each complete nan globe. The movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen, helped renew world liking successful nan pilgrimage, and much recently, societal media and nan expanding desire for unsocial recreation experiences person fueled nan maturation of this centuries-old tradition.

In 2023, a record-breaking half a cardinal group registered to locomotion nan visit routes to Santiago, marking a melodramatic emergence successful numbers. This surge successful visitors was compounded by nan presence of further visitors who were not pilgrims but alternatively casual travelers drawn to nan city’s historical allure. In addition, nan emergence of short-term rentals has added different furniture of unit to nan lodging market, contributing to a important spike successful rent prices successful caller years.

The Housing Crisis successful Santiago

Between 2018 and 2023, rent prices successful Santiago de Compostela skyrocketed by 44%, driven by nan proliferation of short-term picnic rentals. A study commissioned by nan metropolis assembly revealed nan severity of this issue, prompting section authorities to petition that nan region categorize nan metropolis arsenic a high-pressure tourism zone. This classification would let for measures akin to those taken successful Barcelona and San Sebastián to curb nan effect of tourism connected lodging prices.

Despite efforts to modulate nan lodging market, nan business has not improved. Santiago’s metropolis assembly responded to nan rumor by introducing a prohibition connected Airbnb-style short-term rentals successful nan historical center, arguing that specified accommodations were contributing to a simplification successful nan readiness of residential housing. However, this prohibition has not been wholly effective, pinch immoderate short-term rental owners openly flouting nan regulations. Evidence of forbidden rentals continues to surface, and section residents are progressively concerned astir nan semipermanent implications of this unchecked maturation successful tourer accommodations.

The Struggle of Local Residents

For residents of Santiago de Compostela, nan consequences of overtourism are profoundly personal. Individuals for illustration Sihara Pérez, a interrogator astatine nan University of Santiago, person described nan struggle to find lodging successful nan metropolis arsenic a near-impossible task. In addition, Antonio Jeremías, a 27-year-old storage worker, is considering moving backmost successful pinch his mother because his full-time occupation does not supply capable income to screen nan precocious costs of surviving successful nan city. Meanwhile, Andrea Dopazo, a 32-year-old professional, was forced to move to a municipality extracurricular Santiago aft facing nan harsh reality of nan city’s soaring rents.

For galore of nan city’s long-time residents, nan only measurement to clasp onto their homes has been done inheritance. Those who person not been fortunate capable to inherit spot are often near pinch fewer options but to move away. According to Dopazo, nan only residents who stay successful nan historical halfway are those who person been “lucky—or unlucky—enough to inherit an flat from their grandparents, uncles, aliases parents.”

A Shift successful Santiago’s Identity

Santiago’s aged municipality has already seen a important demographic shift, pinch its imperishable organization shrinking by half betwixt 2000 and 2020. Today, less than 3,000 group unrecorded successful nan historical center, a stark opposition to nan bustling, vibrant organization it erstwhile was. Almuíña noted nan absence of basal amenities specified arsenic hardware stores and newsstands, pinch nan remaining businesses being cafes, souvenir shops, and crystal pick parlors. The city’s humanities charm is fading arsenic much buildings are near abandoned aliases successful a authorities of decay.

Local residents are voicing their frustration, pinch galore questioning nan semipermanent sustainability of a tourism-driven economy. According to a study by Rede Galabra, a investigation group astatine nan University of Santiago, much than half of nan city’s residents rejected this exemplary of tourism by 2023. This represents a important displacement successful nationalist sentiment complete nan past decade, arsenic nan metropolis grapples pinch nan challenges of maintaining its practice while accommodating an ever-growing number of visitors.

A Changing Pilgrimage Experience

Some pilgrims, for illustration Spaniards Álvaro Castaño and Ale Osteso, who person walked nan Camino de Santiago together for nan past 4 years, person besides noticed nan translator of nan visit experience. While nan way continues to clasp heavy belief significance, Castaño and Osteso some noted nan expanding commercialization and nan nonaccomplishment of immoderate of nan spirituality that erstwhile characterized nan pilgrimage. The once-solemn ambiance is now often interrupted by circuit groups and pilgrims successful coordinated outfits, snapping photos on nan way. Santiago de Compostela stands astatine a crossroads, pinch its residents and section authorities grappling pinch nan analyzable challenges of overtourism and nan effect connected their community’s fabric.