Pilgrims turn Spain's Santiago de Compostela into overtourism flashpoint

While some Barcelona residents sought to repel a tsunami of tourists with plastic water pistols a neighbourhood association in Santiago de Compostela opted for a friendlier approach a guide to good manners for visitors to their town the endpoint of the Catholic worlds most famous pilgrimageTranslated into several languages the group posted it throughout the northwestern Spanish city and distributed it at its evergrowing number of hostels It reminded tourists to keep noise down respect traffic rules and use plastic protectors on hiking poles to avoid damaging the narrow cobblestone streets among other thingsTo little avail it would seem Large groups still take over the streets singing hymns bikes ride in the wrong direction and metal pole tips clatter against the ground Santiagos social media is awash with photos denouncing a lack of decorumTourists greater offence though stems from their sheer numbers the old town and squares surrounding the cathedral holding the reputed tomb of Saint James the Apostle and that was the centre of town life for a millennium today are almost exclusively the domain of outsiders whose influx has served to expel residents This dynamic has left Santiago emerging as the latest global destination where longtime residents have grown embittered by the overtourism transforming their communityWe do not have tourismphobia We have always lived in harmony with tourism but when it gets out of hand when the pressure goes beyond what is reasonable that is when rejection arises said Roberto Almuiacutena president of the neighbourhood association in the old town thats a Unesco World Heritage siteScenery for visitorsThe Camino de Santiago known in English as the Way of St James dates back to the 9th century with pilgrims following its converging trails for up to hundreds of kilometres on paths originating in Portugal and France The modern popularity it gained with the 2010 film The Way starring Martin Sheen was turbocharged more recently by social media and experiencedriven travel after the coronavirus pandemicLast year a record halfmillion people signed up to trek one of the approved routes to the cathedral equal to five times the citys resident population and marking a 725fold increase over the last four decades Added to those masses are ordinary tourists not arriving by trailThe proliferation of shortterm rentals drove annual rent prices up 44 per cent from 2018 to 2023 according to a study commissioned by the city council to the Fundacioacuten Universidade da Coruna That led municipal authorities in May to request the regional government classify the area as a highpressure zone like Barcelona or San Sebastian which would help to limit rent increasesAlready last November Santiagos city council enacted a ban on Airbnbstyle tourist accommodations in the historic centre arguing at the time in a statement that it was a necessity arising from its significant growth which has clear effects on the number of housing units available for residents and on their priceSihara Peacuterez a researcher at the University of Santiago described finding anywhere to rent in the city as mission impossible while Antonio Jeremiacuteas 27 told The Associated Press that hes considering moving back in with his mother because his salary working fulltime at a warehouse isnt enough to make ends meetAndrea Dopazo 32 tried to move out of her parents house in a neighbourhood located fully 5 kilometres 3 miles from the city centre But her desire to continue living in the place where she grew up and community ties are strong proved futile and she had to take something in a town outside SantiagoThe only people who have been able to stay in the neighbourhoods are those who have been lucky or unlucky enough to inherit an apartment from their grandparents uncles or parents said Dopazo who works in human resources Across Spain there have been major street protests against unaffordable housing with many linking the housing crunch to tourists gobbling up shortterm rentalsBreaking the rulesIn the old town tourists can stay in small hotels in former homes or huge hostels converted from former seminaries which arent subject to the ban But in the hustle to cash in some shortterm rentals are apparently flouting the restriction evidenced by tenants collecting keys from lockboxes hung outside buildingsSome follow the rules and others dont but this is the model that is really limiting residential housing said Montse Vilar from another neighbourhood group Xuntanza Santiagos City Hall told The Associated Press in a statement that it is doing everything in its power to enforce the regulations and that it takes action whenever it detects a case of an illegal apartment housing touristsBetween 2000 and 2020 the historic centre lost about half its permanent population now reduced to just 3000 residents who resist like the Gauls behind buildings thick stone facades Almuiacutena said There are no hardware stores or newsstands left and just one bakery A couple grocery stores coexist with cafes ice cream parlours and souvenir shops The city has emptied out You only have to take a walk to see that all weve got are closed abandoned buildings that are falling apart Almuiacutena addedSpiritualityThis year the number of pilgrims reaching Santiago is on track to set another record The surge is further souring Santiagos residents on their citys tourismcentric economic model already half of them rejected it as of 2023 up from just over onequarter a decade earlier according to a study conducted by Rede Galabra a research group focused on cultural studies at the University of SantiagoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever