Greece - land of ancient Gods, dramatic scenery and crystal clear waters - is suffering at the hands of their booming tourism industry.
An estimated 32 million visitors are expected to descend upon Greek soil this year – the most in recorded history.
While the tourism numbers are extraordinary for a country that has battled bankruptcy and euro ejection in the past few years, it’s taking its toll on the environment.
Environmentalist Nikos Chrysogelos told the Guardian: “We can’t keep having more and more tourists.
“We can’t have small islands, with small communities, hosting one million tourists over a few months. There’s a danger of the infrastructure not being prepared, of it all becoming a huge boomerang if we only focus on numbers and don’t look at developing a more sustainable model of tourism.”
Over the past three years, tourist numbers to Greece have increased by six million with arrivals from China alone doubling since 2017.
Last year, Santorini saw two million visitors arrive – 130 times its 15,000 local population – and the mayor was forced to limit the amount of cruise ship passengers disembarking to 8,000 per day.
Santorini’s mayor, Nikos Zorzos said: “It’s a radical rise and we are forever playing catch-up.
“We have built numerous desalination plants and are in the process of erecting the biggest one in Greece, but in five years’ time I worry even that won’t be enough.”
This rapid growth means strained infrastructure and overcrowding in popular destinations – which can lead to environmental damage.
So what’s the solution? The Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) says to go out of season – or on the shoulder season – to help protect Greece’s environment.
They also advise to venture beyond the tourist-heavy islands like Crete, Mykonos and Santorini and look for some quieter alternatives like Sifnos, Koufonissia and Milos.
