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Santiago de Compostela overtourism sparks etiquette push

A wide view of Praza do Obradoiro and the cathedral illustrates Santiago de Compostela overtourism as Camino pilgrims converge on the historic square.
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5 min read

The visitor surge in Santiago de Compostela has accelerated since the pandemic, fueled by social media and experience-driven travel. As record numbers finish the Camino de Santiago, residents of the UNESCO-listed old town say crowds, noise, and short-term rentals have tipped daily life out of balance. In response, a neighborhood group posted a multilingual "good manners" guide around town and in hostels, asking travelers to keep voices down, follow traffic rules, and cap hiking-pole tips to protect cobblestones.

Key Points

  • Why it matters: Record Camino traffic is reshaping housing, mobility, and livability in the historic center.
  • Travel impact: Expect busier streets, longer queues at the cathedral, and higher demand for lodging.
  • What's next: The city is tightening rules on short-term rentals in the old town, with stepped-up enforcement.
  • Pilgrim totals set another record in 2024, and 2025 is tracking higher.
  • Barcelona's summer water-pistol protests show how anti-tourism tactics elsewhere are escalating.

Snapshot

Santiago de Compostela sits in Spain's Galicia region, about 1 hour, 15 minutes by air from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) to Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ). The city's etiquette campaign encourages quieter arrivals at the cathedral squares, safer cycling, and rubber tips on trekking poles to spare centuries-old stonework. Residents say the real strain is sheer volume as pilgrims and non-pilgrim visitors concentrate in narrow lanes. City officials argue most travelers behave well, but they are promoting a code of good practices while moving to curb illegal tourist apartments inside the historic center.

Background

The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, dates to the 9th century and regained global attention after the 2010 film "The Way," starring Martin Sheen. Post-pandemic social sharing has broadened appeal beyond pilgrims. Barcelona's recent anti-overtourism demonstrations, including widely photographed water-pistol actions, underscore a wider European backlash. Our prior Spain coverage tracks those tensions in urban cores, for example the Barcelona travel advisory, marches slow central corridors. Santiago's challenge differs, residents say, because religious and leisure visitors converge on a compact medieval grid that has steadily lost permanent neighbors to visitor demand and short-term rentals.

Latest Developments

Pilgrim numbers hit records, pressure spreads beyond the trailheads

The Pilgrim's Reception Office reported 499,242 Compostelas in 2024, roughly five times the city's population, and 2025 is pacing to set another record. Large groups often arrive singing, then fan out through the old town, intensifying pinch points near the cathedral and along shop-lined streets. Complaints on local social channels routinely spotlight late-night noise and improper cycling. The etiquette posters ask travelers to moderate voices, respect right-of-way, and use pole protectors to prevent chipping stones, but neighbors say compliance is uneven.

City moves to rein in tourist flats inside the UNESCO core

Municipal rules finalized in late 2024 restrict Airbnb-style apartments in the historic center, and officials have since declared unlicensed tourist flats illegal under local planning instruments. A council-commissioned study with the Universidade da Coruña found average annual rents climbed about 44 percent from 2018 to 2023, prompting Santiago to seek "high-pressure" housing status from the regional government to cap increases. Enforcement continues, with City Hall signaling more inspections and removals of illegal listings.

Analysis

Santiago's overtourism story is less a sudden flashpoint than a long-running trend that the pandemic briefly paused, then intensified. The Camino's success has broadened from faith travelers to bucket-list hikers and city trippers who treat the finish line as a must-see stop. That mix is exactly where friction arises, since peak arrivals cluster in tight, acoustically live streets that double as everyday living rooms for the few thousand residents who remain in the old town. The etiquette campaign is thoughtful and proportionate, yet it cannot alone counter housing economics, crowd geometry, and social amplification.

Near-term relief is likeliest from stricter rules on short-term rentals plus consistent enforcement, a path other Spanish cities are taking to rebalance residential supply. Medium-term, visitor management will need tools beyond posters, for example time-banded access around the cathedral squares on peak afternoons, capped sizes for walking groups, and targeted wayfinding that disperses footfall into less fragile lanes. For travelers, small choices matter, such as arriving earlier in the day, using rubber pole tips, and keeping celebrations soft-voiced within the old town. Those steps honor the place without dulling the Camino's finish-line joy.

Final Thoughts

Santiago de Compostela remains a powerful journey's end, not a theme park. If you are flying into Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ), plan arrivals or cathedral visits outside the busiest afternoon windows, keep your group sizes modest, and treat the old town as a neighborhood first. Support licensed lodging inside the core, and consider stays just beyond the walls to spread demand. With small adjustments by visitors and steady rule-of-law enforcement, the city can protect its character while welcoming those walking the Camino. That balance is the only sustainable answer to Santiago de Compostela overtourism.

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