However, the location of Vigo makes it a good spot to attract tourists, specifically from the rest of Galicia (the region where I live) and, most of all, from Portugal. Talking to people in Porto, the city I visited in Portugal, they all talked about how amazing the lights in Vigo are. However, most people in Vigo despise the Christmas lights. While they might admit that the lights themselves look nice, there are other factors that make the Christmas celebration more of a nuisance than a beautiful sight. First of all, the mayor has spent over a million euros on the displays, and since there are other needs in the city, many residents feel the money could be better spent somewhere else. The other reason is that the streets of Vigo are completely flooded with people. Portuguese and Galician tourists visit Vigo by en mass during November and December, and it can be impossible to take the city buses or trains or even to walk. I live close to the city center, so I have noticed many more people already near where I live, and it is only mid-November! But, it is true that the Christmas season and the tourists it attracts brings in millions of euros each year, 800 million in fact, as estimated by the mayor himself. So while many locals do not like the crowds, there are certainly some benefits of this strange but magnificent-looking tradition!
