Protests over raucous tourists and crackdowns on holiday lets are spreading from Spain’s Mediterranean coastal resorts to other parts of the country that have so far escaped the scourge of overtourism.
After a series of heatwaves made southern Spain less attractive for northern Europeans, and overcrowding pushed up prices in many popular destinations, the cooler – and cheaper – climes of northern and central Spain are proving a major draw for tourists including Britons.
But as holidaymakers steadily expand their presence across Spain’s lesser-known destinations, resentment among residents is growing in cities such as Santiago de Compostela, Toledo, Logroño and other destinations that received few visitors – until now.
How energy bills may rise in January – what it means for your money
The Iran war has driven gas prices in the UK and Europe to their highest level since the start of the Ukraine war, prompting concern that a further price rise for consumers is locked in for the new year.
Forecasters are predicting that the energy price cap could rise in January to £1,970 – a rise of about £250 on the limit in place from October.
Everything you need to know
- The global supply of natural gas has been pegged back by the virtual elimination of Qatar, one of the world’s biggest exporters, from the market by the war in the Persian Gulf.
- Consequently, wholesale prices have shot up as European buyers compete with Asia for the reduced number of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes.
- British consumers are unusually exposed to these fluctuations because gas costs are used as the benchmark for energy bills. The UK is still heavily reliant on gas for heating and electricity generation.
Is increased government help for bill payers coming?
Andy Burnham has made tangible help with the cost of living one of the keystones of his premiership. But the chaos on global energy markets is reducing his ability to come to consumers’ aid.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has made it known that she is seeking new financial support for households in October’s budget to try to soften the blow of a January price hike. Whether the Treasury will be able to find the funds to do so remains to be seen.
Charlie Kirk murder suspect faces death penalty
A US judge has ruled that a 23-year-old Utah man charged with the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk can face the death penalty if convicted at trial.
Everything you need to know
- Kirk, 31, had built a reputation as a rising star of the American right with his debating events advocating conservative positions, held at campuses across the US.
- The activist and father of two was shot by a rooftop sniper on 10 September, 2025, suffering a fatal neck wound.
- Prosecutors claim they have unassailable evidence that Tyler Robinson is the killer, including DNA allegedly tying him to the murder weapon and confessions he is claimed to have made to loved ones.
How defence lawyers sought to have death penalty taken off the table
Robinson is facing a charge of , a capital offence in Utah which can carry the death penalty. Prosecutors argue that factors including allegedly firing into a crowd containing children warrant a capital trial.
But defence lawyers have attempted to sow doubt about the prosecution case, saying no bullets struck anyone other than Kirk and raising questions about the credentials of testifying experts. Robinson pleaded not guilty.
Four charged with murder after baby fatally stabbed
Two men and two women have been charged with murder after a baby girl was found stabbed to death at a house in Sheffield.
What you need to know
- Police were called to the home in the Wincobank area of Sheffield on Sunday morning after reports of concern for the safety of newborn girl.
- After a search of the property, officers found the body of the infant. A post-mortem examination found the baby had died as a result of stab wounds.
- Andrea Skopova, 20, Peter Horvath, 19, Peter Horvath, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, were each charged with three offences, including murder, on Tuesday. They are due to appear in court.
Teenager accused of related offence
The Crown Prosecution Service said a 15-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had also been charged with an allegation of perverting the course of justice in connection with the incident.
South Yorkshire Police said it was dealing with an “intricate investigation”. Commenting on the charges, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Woodward said: “This is a significant step in our investigation into the tragic circumstances that resulted in the death of this baby girl.”
How the triple lock could be replaced
The state pension triple lock, which pegs payments to the highest of three economic measures, “has to stop” and should be replaced by a link to average earnings, a leading economist has warned.
What you need to know
- First introduced in 2015, the triple lock increases the state pension annually by whichever is the highest of inflation, wage increases or 2.5 per cent and will cost £15.5bn per annum by 2030.
- Paul Johnson, the former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank, warns that the policy will “take up the whole economy” if left unreformed.
- Johnson is suggesting the state pension be set as a fraction of average full-time earnings, with 33 per cent considered to be “about right”.
How would an average earnings link work
The new state pension currently sits at about 30 per cent of median full-time earnings (£39,039). A target figure for the pension as a fraction of wages – say 33 per cent – could become the benchmark for all future payments.
The system, known as a “smoothed earnings link”, would allow the pension to go up in line with inflation when it rises faster than earnings. But in other years it would remain pegged to wages, saving £650m in 2029-30.
Iran attacks US bases in the Middle East
The Iranian regime launched attacks on US military assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq overnight fuelling concerns about a wider resumption of hostilities.
Everything you need to know
Iranian counter-strikes
A US Marines training camp in Jordan was targeted. No deaths or injuries were reported.
Tehran claimed it had struck US warehouses in Iraqi Kurdistan. In Kuwait, the military said it had responded to Iranian missile attacks.
US resumes attacks
The Iranian assault follows American strikes in the Strait of Hormuz after a calm in hostilities.
Alleged attack on wedding
Tehran said it was responding to US strikes on its territory on Tuesday. The Iranian Red Crescent said five people, including a child, had been killed when shrapnel from an American missile hit a wedding celebration.
3 min read
Pentagon denies targeting civilians
The latest exchange of fire between the US and Iran represents a distinct escalation in a conflict which had gone into a lull for several weeks. American strikes early on Monday have led to a series of attacks.
The US military said it was aware of reports that five people were killed and more than 50 injured in a missile strike in Sirik, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian sources said the victims were attending a wedding celebration. But the Pentagon said it “never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC”.
Trump’s military is at breaking point – he’ll pay for it at the ballot box
The attack by US drones on Iran’s Larak Island reveals that Donald Trump’s mission control, like Houston and Apollo 13, has a major problem.
The test that can spot nine in 10 bladder cancers
An at-home urine test being trialled by the NHS can detect 92 per cent of bladder cancer cases, potentially reducing the need for patients to face more urgent and invasive procedures.
A study of 1,000 patients led by the University of Birmingham found a in the simple test meant there was a more than 99 per cent chance that a patient did not have bladder cancer.
Everything you need to know
- Around 11,000 cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year. It is more common in men and 60 per cent of cases are in those aged 75 and over.
- The new test looks for genetic material – caused by more than 450 DNA mutations – shed into the urine by bladder cancer.
- A wider trial will establish whether the test is sufficient to rule out further procedures for negative results – and can help identify patients at greater risk of disease.
More convenience for patients
Researchers hope the test, developed with funding from Cancer Research UK, could reduce the number of patients needing cystoscopies – an invasive procedure which involves inserting a small camera into the bladder via the urethra.
Some 300,000 cystoscopies are carried out each year but there are lengthy waiting lists in some areas. By potentially ruling out cancer in tens of thousands of cases, it is hoped the new test could help doctors prioritise those in urgent need.
On a recent visit to Logroño, in the northern region of La Rioja, signs hanging from houses near the city’s famous cathedral read: “We live here. Neighbourhood yes, noise no.”
Iratxe Apeztegia, of Demanda Casco Antiguo, a residents’ group, said: “What keeps us up at night is the noise from the bars downstairs. It is a real persistent noise – one that seems to be getting worse. Yet it is ignored either [because of a] lack of resources or, quite simply, a lack of will.”
In 2025, there were more than 3,000 complaints of antisocial behaviour, 17.3 per cent more than in the previous year, according to Logroño police figures.
Over half – 53 per cent – of offences were for urinating in the street or making noise at the weekend and most were carried out by visitors, police said.
“Political figures sometimes claim that Logroño has turned into the ‘Magaluf of the north’,” said Francisco Iglesias, the Logroño councillor responsible for interior affairs, at a council meeting in June.
“We will never be able to stop someone urinating in the street, nor can we prevent someone from acting recklessly and climbing onto a balcony, but that is not the norm in this city.”
British holidaymakers who take the ferry to the coastal city of Santander often pass through La Rioja on their way to other parts of Spain. The region is becoming more popular among foreign tourists, with Americans and French the largest groups by nationality, tourist authorities said. Last year, 936,235 visitors came to La Rioja, 13 per cent more than in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Camino de Santiago, the famous pilgrimage route that stretches across Spain and farther afield and which is walked by thousands from across the world every year, has for centuries been a chance for quiet contemplation.
Not anymore, say residents of Santiago de Compostela, the Galician city where the pilgrimage routes lead, who claim it is increasingly falling victim to the worst excesses of “touristification”.
In a protest staged in June, campaigners plastered the centre of the historic city with posters reading: “RIP Santiago de Compostela”, which lamented the death of the city because of tourism.
Last year, the number of British tourists visiting Galicia rose 47.4 per cent with 108,246 visitors. Elsewhere in northern Spain in the Basque Country, the increase was 40.1 per cent with 182,876 holidaymakers, while Asturias was up 18.7 per cent, welcoming 35,106 Britons.
Historian Manel Marquez published a post on social media showing groups of tourists chanting, dancing and waving flags and sticks.
“The Camino de Santiago turned into a bachelor’s party. Touristification destroys everything it touches,” he wrote.
About 4,000 pilgrims arrive every day in Santiago de Compostela at the end of the pilgrimage in peak season.
By late August, 376,000 people had collected their certificates, which pilgrims earn by getting a Camino passport stamped along the route – a 6 per cent rise on the same period as last year.
Residents say they are plagued by pilgrims blasting music, drinking, and bathing naked in the public fountains.
One resident told Spanish television in a recent report: “They think it is a theme park. We are all tourists in a way but we need a more sustainable form of tourism.”
Sergio del Molino, an author, said that for places like Santiago de Compostela, anti-tourist feeling was ironic because the city depended to a large extent on its visitors.
“Hatred of the tourist is the refrain of tourist spots, but in Santiago it becomes a paradox. Because the city only exists because of the Camino,” he wrote in an article in the Spanish newspaper .
Castilla-La Mancha, a central region of Spain, is another increasingly popular draw for tourists. Many come to visit the windmills made famous by Miguel de Cervantes’ masterpiece , the theatre festival in Almagro, and the natural parks. Its capital, Toledo, is known as the city of three cultures after the period of its history during which Catholics, Muslims and Jews lived alongside each other.
A new law proposed by the regional government means that owners of tourist lets will not be able to advertise them on Airbnb and other digital platforms unless they are registered with the tourist authorities.
Rental of individual rooms to holidaymakers will be banned so only entire apartments can be used for tourism to ensure locals don’t have to live alongside tourist flats.
Castilla-La Mancha is yet to rival destinations such as the coastal hotspots of Marbella, Malaga and Benidorm, the islands of Tenerife and Mallorca, or the city of Barcelona, which have all been shaken by anti-tourism protests.
But the demand for tourist lets has risen by 257 per cent since 2018. And with heatwaves set to drive increasing numbers of tourists to Spain’s north, locals expect that things will only get worse.
Residents of Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja and Santiago de Compostela fear their home cities could eventually suffer the same fate as those tourist destinations where protests have become the norm.
But whether protests and restrictions will work to prevent them from succumbing to the curse of overtourism remains to be seen.