Since the start of the New Year a number of travel guides have been issuing their lists of which destinations travellers should avoid this year, with Santorini taking a prominent place.
The popular Greek island is among the “forbidden” destinations because of over-tourism, a concept that acquired a new, broad dimension in 2024 and, it seems, in 2025 will continue to concern us even more.
In particular, Santorini is mentioned as one of the most prominent examples of over-tourism in Forbes’ 2024 review.
“The island, with its unique views, romantic villages, whitewashed houses on the cliffs, churches with blue domes and picturesque narrow streets hanging over the crystal clear waters of the Aegean Sea, is also one of the most visited destinations in the world,” the American medium points out.
This, according to the media, means crowds everywhere, overcrowding, mess, noise, new construction, high prices, degradation of nature, pollution, endless queues, bad food, and so on.
Apart from Santorini, the destinations to avoid in 2025 include several “first class” European destinations, including the Canary Islands, Mallorca, Barcelona, Venice and Lisbon, as shown in the famous No List for 2025 recently released by the English-language travel guide Fodor’s. While, among the European destinations that are beginning to “suffer” from the phenomenon of over-tourism is the Italian city of Agrigento, in Sicily, which has been designated as the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025.
In addition to the aforementioned European destinations, Fodor’s has a number of other destinations in Asia under control, including Bali, Koh Samui, Thailand and Everest.
Each year, Fodor’s No List aims to shine a light on destinations that “suffer” from unsustainable popularity. “These locations are popular for good reason-they’re spectacular, interesting and culturally significant. However, some of these coveted tourist spots are failing under the weight of their own promotion,” the travel guide says.
