Tourists warned to avoid one Greek island as things 'turn ugly' with 'hostile' locals
Residents have grown increasingly frustrated with visitors who overwhelm their island.
British travellers have been warned to avoid Santorini if they are planning to go to Greece, as this summer’s overtourism on the island has been described as the “worst ever”.
Santorini has long been a popular tourist hotspot, welcoming on average a staggering 3.4 million visitors each year, over 170 times its population of 20,000.
However, the overwhelm of tourists has made locals grow frustrated, with US news channel CNN warning that things have increasingly “turned ugly” between residents and visitors.
According to France24, the tourism industry is driving up property prices on the island, making life harder for local Greeks, who now have to allocate more than 40 percent of their disposable income to housing, the highest rate in Europe.
These frustrations have led to multiple anti-tourism protests over the summer, extending beyond Santorini and spreading to other popular tourist destinations, as locals uphold slogans such as "Tourists Go Home!", "No Tourists No Hipsters", and "Burn Airbnb".
One of Santorini's main issues are the many cruise ships that dock on the island. On a single peak summer day, CCN Travel has reported that an astonishing 17,000 passengers are beleived to descend on Santorini.
Officials have been looking into measures to tackle overtourism, with Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos recently suggesting to limit cruise ship visitors to 8,000 a day, and a rumoured visitor cap set to be enforced in 2025, according to Wales Online.
This comes as many other tourist hotspots across Europe have been protesting against the large influx of tourists this summer. In Spain, demonstrations have even made some tourists cancel their upcoming trips to Majorca.
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However, some Santorini locals believe the issue doesn't exactly lie with overtourism.
"Overtourism doesn’t exist", Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator and a Santorini resident of 18 years, told CNN Travel. "What I see is a lack of structures.
"The truth is that the island is empty. Right now is like never before, it’s the worst season ever. The problem is that the social media are showing something completely different from what is the reality."
