Spain's Santigo to limit tourist shop numbers in its old town

Santiago de Compostela is the latest Spanish city to look for solutions to the consequences of overtourism.

Twenty years ago, Santiago's casco viejo (old quarter) catered towards residents with bakeries, bookstores, butchers, pharmacies and shoe shops. It was a neighbourhood for its neighbours.

But the growing number of international pilgrims and other tourists visiting the final stop of St James' Way (El Camino de Santiago) has resulted in the old medieval streets being packed full of businesses and services for day-visitors.

There are now officially more shops for tourists than there are for locals. The touristification of the city has reduced local businesses to a third of their former number.

According to data from the council, in 1990 there were 645 businesses catering to residents in the old town. Today there are 202. The decline has been particularly pronounced among food outlets (down from 125 to 35) and clothing and lingerie shops (from 121 to just 44).

As a result, Santiago de Compostela council has decided it limit the establishment of new souvenir shops “in practically the entire told town area” for two years, as well as "automated businesses" such as lockers and vending machines within the city walls, an area recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 1999, the city welcomed around 488,800 travellers. By 2023, that number had risen to 926,100. Tourist flats are already banned in the old town.

This new approach was announced on Monday by the mayor of Santiago, Goretti Sanmartín, at a breakfast attended by all city councillors to celebrate two years in office, according to reports from Europa Press.

According to Sanmartín, the measure was approved with the aim of "protecting" local businesses and "achieving the necessary diversification of the commercial fabric."

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The small city’s Urban Planning councillor, Iago Lestegás, then outlined the changes during the presentation of a ‘Special Plan for the Protection and Rehabilitation of the Historic City’ this week.

The council has also pledged to ban the opening of new gambling establishments or shops selling products aimed at tourists in the old town. The aim is to preserve residential use as well as local commerce in the old town.

A growing number of Spanish cities are trying to prevent their old quarters from becoming 'theme parks for tourists' where residents feel alienated and in many cases are priced out by spiralling rents.

READ MORE: Spain's Toledo gets tough on mass tourism

Toledo just restricted tour group numbers and free tours, Valencia has banned tour guides from using megaphones, Seville is considering charging tourists to see its most iconic square and Barcelona has also vowed to crack down on tacky shops that 'degrade' city's image.

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