Bilbao vs Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela leads Bilbao by 3 points on the CIRA Index, 67 to 64. Bilbao grades better on 9 measures, Santiago de Compostela on 8; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Bilbao 64, Santiago de Compostela 67
• OECD: Bilbao 63, Santiago de Compostela 65
• UN Tourism: Bilbao 63, Santiago de Compostela 70
• UNDRR: Bilbao 57, Santiago de Compostela 52

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Bilbao 71, Santiago de Compostela 75
• Economy and jobs: Bilbao 75, Santiago de Compostela 83
• Climate and hazards: Bilbao 65, Santiago de Compostela 65
• Water and environment: Bilbao 63, Santiago de Compostela 75
• Community and housing: Bilbao 69, Santiago de Compostela 69
• Access and continuity: Bilbao 55, Santiago de Compostela 52

Where Bilbao is stronger

• Average length of stay: 2 nights per visitor (Europa Press / Ayuntamiento de Bilbao, 2025). Between 1.8 and 2.2: grade 1/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Tourism intensity: 7.8 visitor nights per resident per year (Ayuntamiento de Bilbao (Europa Press) & Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), 2025). Between 5 and 10: grade 3/4.
• Short-let density: 0.8 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (INE via Crónica Vasca / Dataestur, May 2026). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (ABAO-OLBE & Port of Bilbao (Bilbaoport), 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Air traffic recovery: 121.8 % of the same 12 months of 2019, airport passengers (Eurostat avia_paoa, 2025-04–2026-03). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Largest airline group share: 52.4 % of airport passengers carried by the largest airline group (Aena, detailed traffic statistics (passengers by airline, route and country), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026). Between 40 and 55: grade 1/4.
• Air route concentration: 50.2 % of international air passengers on routes to the 3 largest partner countries (Aena, detailed traffic statistics (passengers by airline, route and country), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026). Between 50 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Gobierno Vasco - Euskadi.eus, 2021–2026). Grade 3/4.

Where Santiago de Compostela is stronger

• Largest foreign market: 11.7 % of international arrivals or nights (INE, foreign tourists by municipality and country of residence (mobile-phone positioning, table 52048), 2025). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 76.6 % average annual occupancy (INE via EpData, August 2026). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 8 % of the labour force (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Indicadores Urbanos (Edición 2024), 2023). Between 5 and 8: grade 3/4.
• Extreme heat days: 1.4 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 90 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) - Indicadores de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, 2020). Between 85 and 95: grade 3/4.
• Rail share of intercity access: 12 % of intercity passengers travelling by long-distance rail (rail vs rail + airport) (Ministerio de Transportes, Observatorio del Ferrocarril en España 2024 (rail, by city) and Eurostat avia_paoa (airport), 2024). Between 10 and 20: grade 1/4.
• Rail traffic recovery: 187.5 % of 2019 long-distance rail passengers, latest year (Ministerio de Transportes, Observatorio del Ferrocarril en España 2024, passengers by city 2019 and 2024, 2024). At or above 120: grade 4/4.
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (El Correo Gallego / Concello de Santiago, 'El TSXG avala la tasa turística de Santiago y rechaza todos los argumentos de los hoteleros', 2025–2026). Grade 3/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Spain: #3 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Spain: #3 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Bilbao in full · Santiago de Compostela in full

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