In its unstoppable expansion throughout Spain, mass tourism is claiming a new victim: the Albaicín of Granada

History on all four sides. Culture. Views of the Alhambra. In theory, living in the Albaicín, a historic neighborhood in Granada, should be a privilege. In theory. The tourist overcrowding that has already devoured other cities from Spain (and other countries) is making everyday life in the most popular areas of the neighborhood resemble a gymkhana in which residents must navigate visitors in search of the best selfie. And that’s not even the worst. Part of the residents they take time warning of how tourism is affecting housing and services.

They claim a “Livable Albaicín”.

What has happened? That the list of Spanish cities in which the tension between mass tourism and the daily lives of residents is growing adds a new town: Granada. For some time now, the residents of the city, more specifically the Albaicín neighborhoodwarn of how the arrival of visitors to the area alters their routine and something just as or even more important: services, commerce and, above all, housing.

It’s not something new. In fact, the platform that gives voice to the complaints of locals, ‘Albayzín habitable’, It was launched in 2024. However, a quick search on Google shows how their complaints have not stopped over the last two years. On the contrary. On Instagram, where they accumulate 10,200 followersshow intense activity in the streets. Their purpose, they clarify, is to act against “a tourism model that is killing the neighborhood.” They are not against the sector or visitors, but against overcrowding.

What is the problem? The photo is not very different from what can be found in other points where the rope that unites residents and tourists has been tightening for some time. The group cries out against the transfer of housing that migrates from the residential market to tourist rentals (“where before there were neighbors there are now lockers“) or the risk of losing spaces for citizen use in favor of the sector, as, they warn, may occur with Saint Agnes and Saint Michael. The first is a old convent. The second was a juvenile center. Now they both could become hotelswhich has already brought out the neighbors to the street to protest.

Is it that serious? On Monday The Country public a chronicle in which he points out other consequences of the tourism of the neighborhood, effects well known in other great destinations in the country, such as Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela either Palma de Mallorca. For example, crowds at the San Nicolás viewpoint to achieve the best selfie of the sunset or a change in the commercial fabric of the neighborhood, with traditional businesses that look with concern at the medium-term future and new ones that open despite not having any cultural link with the environment.

“Look, now the groups of tourists surround us, before it was the neighbors who were on the street,” commented a neighbor sarcastically told the newspaper.

But is it so noticeable? He is not the only one who points out this progressive mutation that, little by little, is making the neighborhood more adapted to the needs of those who are passing through and less to those of those who live there permanently. In August, Tatiana, a spokesperson for Albayzín Habitable, lamented the closure of a supermarket and a clinic, essential for residents. Businesses such as hairdressers or supermarkets give way to retail stores. take away and cold sangria.

“Local shops and supermarkets continue to disappear and are replaced by trinket shops for tourists or hospitality establishments only available to the most privileged,” they insist on the neighborhood platform.

Are they just impressions? There are also figures. Last year Albayzín Habitable estimated that in the area there were around 7,400 places for tourists, which would exceed, he assures, the number of registered residents, which is around 7,000.

Correct or not, their data is not the first to warn of the tourist saturation that the neighborhood is experiencing. A few years ago the Granada City Council commissioned a study on the topic that concluded that Fígares and Albaicín are the areas with the highest concentration of tourist rentals in the city. By measuring the proportion of tourist apartments over available family homes in each part of the municipality, the technicians concluded that in both areas it reached 24%. In hard and fast figures, that translated into 715 homes out of 3,038.

What are the consequences? The report suggests that this tourist pressure may be driving out neighbors. Although during the period analyzed (2015-2022) the whole of Granada had recorded a negative demographic dynamic, the trend seemed to be accentuated in Albaicín, with the transfer of 712 of the almost 9,300 residents initially registered.

It is not the biggest ‘bleed’ in the town in net terms, but the data does stand out if analyzed in proportion. When in 2025 the City Council pushed the veto of new tourist apartments, the most saturated areas were in fact established.

Is there more data? Yes. There are some more indicators that help understand the reality that Albaicín, declared a World Heritage Site, is experiencing. in 1994 and which enjoyed a priceless promotional campaign three years later, in ’97when former President Bill Clinton publicly acknowledged that he had been amazed by the view of the sunset from the Granada neighborhood.

The Idealista portal, for example, calculates that in the last year the price of housing skyrocketed in the area 20.1%significantly above the average of the Granada set (10.5%) or the entire region of Andalusia (17.6%).

Is everything negative? Not at all. In general, the province said goodbye to 2025 with 4.87 million of visitors, 5.2% more than the previous year. This flow of tourists is key to Granada’s economy. So much so that the Provincial Council itself estimates that the sector contributes 14% to the provincial GDP, which is equivalent to 2,646 million euros. This intense economic flow means that part of Albaicín places emphasis, more than on the annoyances of overcrowding, on the wealth generated by the sector. “It’s a source of income,” claims the owner of a pharmacy.

What is the solution? Albayzín Habitable insists that it does not want to turn off the tourism tap, but rather rethink the model to make it compatible with the daily lives of those who reside in the neighborhood. “We are not against tourism, we are against overcrowding. We demand the neighborhood meeting space,” explains to The Country Rafael, a member of the platform, who in addition to organizing mobilizations has taken advantage of the 17-M electoral event to call a discussion table so that the different parties can present their ideas.

The neighbors have even made a decalogue with measures which include a tough line on illegal tourist rentals, price regulation, more investment or limiting short-term rentals.

Images | Álex Quezada (Unsplash) and Dimitry B (Unsplash)

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