When you think of Santorini, images of whitewashed streets packed with tourists vying for the perfect sunset photo usually come to mind.
But while some warn that the picture-perfect island is being flooded, other locals claim the popular Greek holiday destination is struggling to attract enough tourists.
“The truth is that the island is empty. Right now we are at our best, it’s the worst season ever,” says Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator who has lived in Santorini for 18 years.
Discouraged by videos of lines of cruise ship passengers and visitors walking through the streets under the scorching sun, potential tourists are choosing to avoid staying on the island for long periods, he said.
He told CNN Travel: ‘The problem is that social media is showing something completely different from what reality is..’
A video shared by a tourist at the end of July shows the streets of Oia practically deserted
The images of Oia were apparently taken before an influx of visitors arrived.
Shocking videos show the packed streets of Santorini with hordes of tourists crammed onto the tiny island.
TikTok and Instagram are flooded with videos of people crowding the narrow streets of the island’s most popular spots: the capital, Fira, and the village of Oia.
But despite July and August being peak season on the island, in many areas town centres are reported to be dead after 9pm.
Many of those who flock to the island’s main attractions are cruise ship passengers, with Santorini being a key stop on Greek cruise itineraries.
When the crowds are gone, Chimenti says, “hotels are now at about 30 percent of what they would be in a normal season.”
A video shared by a tourist in late July appears to show the streets of Oia virtually deserted; the footage was apparently taken before large numbers of visitors arrived.
Although empty in these images, the picturesque village’s famous clifftop viewing point sees tourists queuing for 20 minutes or more in hopes of snapping the perfect Instagram photo.
Other images shared by a tour guide show hundreds of passengers queuing with suitcases to board a boat in front of the volcanic island.
At the end of the 20th century, Santorini was an idyllic place where most inhabitants benefited more from agriculture than from tourism.
Visitor numbers increased from the 1960s onwards as the island gained a reputation for its stunning views and iconic architecture, but development on the island failed to keep pace.
“There is no such thing as overtourism. What I see is a lack of structures,” Chimenti said.
Of the 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in ten, went to the island of just 15,500 inhabitants.
Some 17,000 tourists are expected to arrive each day during the peak holiday season, according to councillor Panos Kavallaris.
Mr Kavallaris previously urged residents in a since-deleted Facebook post to stay home and avoid the 17,000 tourists authorities say they expect to arrive on the island each day.
“Another difficult day is coming for our city and our island with the arrival of 17,000 visitors from cruise ships. We ask for your attention: limit your movements as much as possible,” warned the councillor, but the publication quickly provoked the indignation of the residents.
Residents criticised the councillor’s request, with one commenting on social media: “(He) officially asks residents to lock themselves in their houses so that tourists can walk around freely. Wonderful.”
Every year, huge crowds flock to the island, making life difficult for the inhabitants of Santorini.
Chimenti suggested that cruise operators should organize excursions to other parts of the island and coordinate other excursions so that people do not crowd into the same areas at the same time.
Meanwhile, tourists are starting to head to quieter – but equally picturesque – parts of the island to ensure their holidays are 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, where they had heard was “very, very busy”.
Instead, they stayed in a clifftop village a few miles away, which she told CNN was “amazing, lovely and peaceful.”
