When you think of Santorini, you probably think of busy, whitewashed streets and hordes of holidaymakers jostling for the perfect sunset photo.
Some warn the picture-perfect island is being overrun, while other locals say the Greek holiday destination is struggling to attract enough tourists.
“The truth is that the island is empty. It is like never before, it is the worst season ever,” said Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator who has lived in Santorini for 18 years.
He claims that potential tourists are put off by videos of lines of cruise ship passengers and visitors shuffling through the streets in the blazing sun, and are choosing not to stay on the island for too long.
He told CNN Travel: ‘The problem is that social media shows something very different than reality..
A video shared by a tourist in late July shows the streets of Oia virtually deserted
The images of Oia were apparently taken before an influx of visitors arrived
Shocking videos show Santorini’s busy streets with hordes of tourists on the small island
TikTok and Instagram are full of videos of people gathering in the narrow streets of the island’s most popular spots: the capital Fira and the village of Oia.
But despite July and August being the island’s peak season, town centres in many areas are reportedly deserted after 9pm.
Many of the people who visit the island’s main attractions are cruise ship passengers. Santorini is an important stopover on Greek cruise itineraries.
Once the rush is over, Chimenti says, “hotels are now about 30 percent occupied compared to a normal season.”
In late July, a tourist shared a video showing the streets of Oia nearly deserted. The footage appears to have been taken before the large influx of tourists arrived.
Although the photos on this page are empty, tourists queue for 20 minutes or more at the famous clifftop viewpoint in the picturesque village, hoping to capture the perfect Instagram shot.
Separate footage shared by a tour guide shows hundreds of passengers with suitcases lining up to board a ship departing from the volcanic island.
Hundreds of tourists sit on the steep hills of Santorini to watch and photograph the famous sunset on July 25, 2024
Hundreds of tourists gather in the village of Oia on Santorini to watch the sunset on July 20.
Until well into the 20th century, Santorini was a sleepy, idyllic island where most residents earned more from agriculture than from tourism.
From the 1960s onwards, the number of visitors increased as the island became known for its beautiful views and iconic architecture, but the development of the island could not keep pace.
“There is no such thing as overtourism. What I see is a lack of structures,” Chimenti said.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, about 3.4 million, or one in ten, visited the island of just 15,500.
According to councillor Panos Kavallaris, around 17,000 tourists are expected every day during the high season.
Mr Kavallaris had previously urged residents in a now-deleted Facebook post to stay home and avoid the 17,000 tourists he said authorities expected on the island each day.
“Another difficult day awaits us for our city and island with the arrival of 17,000 cruise ship visitors. We ask for your attention: limit your movements as much as possible,” the councilor said, but the post quickly caused outrage among the local population.
Residents criticized the councilor’s request. One of them responded on social media: ‘[He] officially asks locals to lock themselves down at home so tourists can walk around freely. Great.’
Every year large crowds of people come to the island, making life hard for the locals of Santorini
Shocking images from the picturesque island show crowds of tourists queuing on narrow walkways past white buildings with the famous sea-blue domes for the most beautiful holiday photos
Tourists leave after watching the sunset in Santorini from Oia Castle, Santorini, Greece
Chimenti suggested that cruise lines organize excursions to other parts of the island and coordinate them so that people wouldn’t all go to the same areas at the same time.
Meanwhile, holidaymakers are increasingly flocking to the quieter, but equally picturesque, parts of the island, wanting to make their holiday memorable for the views rather than the crowds.
Katie Haslam, from Rochdale, said she and her husband decided to spend their honeymoon away from Fira after hearing it was ‘really, really busy’.
Instead, they stayed in a clifftop village a few miles away, which she told CNN was “amazing, beautiful and peaceful.”