Santorini has never been high on my bucket list. As a travel reporter, I’ve spent a lot of time researching and writing about how southern European destinations are dealing with overtourism. In the summer season when tourists flock to Mediterranean hotspots, small towns with narrow streets can easily become filled to bursting, overwhelming infrastructure that’s not built for crowds, and damaging quality of life for long-suffering locals.
Over in Mallorca, protests have become a frequent occurrence, with residents claiming that uncontrolled tourism has priced them out of the housing market and had a damaging environmental impact on their island. So too in Barcelona, where this past summer frustrated citizens organised demonstrations, including squirting tourists with water pistols.
