Popular city becoming 'abandoned' and 'emptied out' as locals flee from singing tourists

Locals in one of the most famous pilgrimmage destinations in the world have begun to fight back against increasingly large and unruly flocks of tourists.

While some residents of Barcelonahave resorted to using plastic water pistols to deter the influx of tourists, a neighbourhood association in Santiago de Compostela has taken a more amicable approach. They've created a guide to good manners for visitors to their town, which is the final destination of the world's most renowned Catholicpilgrimage.

The guide, translated into several languages and distributed throughout the northwestern Spanishcity and its ever-increasing number of hostels, advises tourists to keep noise levels down, respect traffic rules and use plastic protectors on hiking poles to prevent damage to the narrow cobblestone streets, among other things.

However, it appears that these efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Large groups continue to dominate the streets with their hymn singing, cyclists ride against the flow of traffic, and the clatter of metal pole tips against the ground is a common sound.

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Santiago's social media platforms are filled with photos highlighting the lack of decorum from visitors.

But the greatest offence caused by tourists stems from their sheer numbers. The old town and squares surrounding the cathedral, which houses the reputed tomb of Saint James the Apostle and has been the centre of town life for a millennium, are now almost exclusively occupied by outsiders.

This influx has resulted in the displacement of local residents, leaving Santiago as the latest global destination where long-term inhabitants are becoming increasingly frustrated by the overtourism transforming their community.

"We do not have tourism-phobia. 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 Almuíña, president of the neighbourhood association in the old town that's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The "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 experience-driven travel after the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, a record half-million people signed up to trek one of the approved routes to the cathedral - equal to five times the city's resident population, and marking a 725-fold increase over the last four decades.

Added to those masses are ordinary tourists not arriving by trail. The proliferation of short-term rentals drove annual rent prices up 44% from 2018 to 2023, according to a study commissioned by the city council to the Fundación Universidade da Coruña.

That led municipal authorities in May to request the regional government classify the area as a high-pressure zone, like Barcelona or San Sebastian, which would help to limit rent increases. Last November, Santiago's city council put a stop to Airbnb-style tourist accommodations in the historic centre, citing "a necessity arising from its significant growth, which has clear effects on the number of housing units available for residents and on their price."

Sihara Pérez, a researcher at the University of Santiago, described finding anywhere to rent in the city as "mission impossible," Meanwhile, Antonio Jeremías, 27, revealed to The Associated Press that he's contemplating moving back in with his mum, as his full-time warehouse job doesn't pay enough to cover his expenses.

Andrea Dopazo, 32, attempted to move out of her parents' house in a neighbourhood located a full 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the city centre. However, her wish to continue living in the place where she grew up and community ties are strong proved unattainable, and she had to settle for a place in a town outside Santiago.

"The 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 blaming the housing crunch on tourists snapping up short-term rentals.

In the old town, holidaymakers can find accommodation in quaint hotels set in former residences or massive hostels converted from old seminaries, which aren't affected by the ban. However, in the rush to make a quick buck, some short-term rentals are seemingly ignoring the restriction, as evidenced by tenants picking up keys from lockboxes hung outside buildings.

"Some follow the rules and others don't, but this is the model that is really limiting residential housing," said Montse Vilar, from another neighbourhood group, Xuntanza.

Santiago's City Hall told The Associated Press that it is "doing everything in its power to enforce the regulations" and that it takes action whenever it detects an illegal apartment housing tourists.

Between 2000 and 2020, the historic centre lost about half its permanent population, now dwindled down to just 3,000 residents who "resist like the Gauls" behind the thick stone facades of buildings, Almuíña said. There are no DIY stores or newsagents left, and just one bakery.

A couple of grocery shops coexist with cafes, ice cream parlours and souvenir shops.

"The city has emptied out. You only have to take a stroll to see that all we've got are closed, abandoned buildings that are falling apart," Almuíña added.

This year, the number of pilgrims reaching Santiago is on course to break yet another record.

The influx is increasingly turning Santiago's residents against their city's tourism-focused economic approach; already half of them rejected it as of 2023, up from just over one-quarter a decade earlier, according to research by Rede Galabra, a cultural studies group at the University of Santiago.

Even some of the pilgrims themselves are noticing a transformation, like Spaniards Álvaro Castaño and Ale Osteso who first encountered each other on the route four years ago and have made the journey annually ever since.

"The Camino is becoming more and more known, many more people are coming," Osteso remarked one recent morning at the conclusion of their pilgrimage, surrounded by tour groups of walkers in bright, colour-coordinated gear and families taking photographs.

"Spirituality seems to have been a little lost at times."