In recent years, overtourism has become an increasingly pressing issue across parts of Europe, with growing protests highlighting local frustrations. Demonstrations and protests in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, as well as Barcelona and Venice’s recent tourist tax, have brought global attention to the strain that excessive tourism places on local residents. But it turns out there is one beautiful island in Greece, that has been crowned the ‘overtourism capital of Europe’ by Which?.
Known for its crystal blue waters, loggerhead turtles and incredible vegetation, the third largest of the Ionian Islands, Zakynthos, though more commonly known as Zante, has only around 40,000 people that actually live there, compared to a staggering six million overnight stays in 2023. That’s roughly 150 overnight stays per resident, the site said.
Most visitors flock to the lively resort areas along the southern coast, transforming the island into a destination where tourists overwhelmingly outnumber locals.
For many, a holiday here means being surrounded mostly by other travelers, with shops, restaurants, and even cultural experiences increasingly tailored and priced for tourists rather than the island’s residents.
Navagio beach is regularly named among the most beautiful beaches in the entire world, and is undoubtedly the island’s main draw for visitors with its cove of turquoise waters and a shipwreck of a former smuggler’s ship that ran aground in 1980.
Zakynthos was first celebrated by the legendary Greek poet Homer, who called it the “Flower of the East,” a tribute to its lush vegetation and natural beauty, in addition to the diverse landscape, ranging from turquoise waters, small coves, fertile plains, to dramatic cliffs and pine-covered mountains.
The north is characterised by spectacular cliffs of limestone that show bright turquoise coloured waters, while further south, Zante boasts golden beaches of white sand like the Bay of Laganas that stretches for several miles.
The beaches are protected due to them being the stunning home of loggerhead sea turtles or Caretta caretta, an endangered species that comes here to lay its eggs between May and October.
The island stretches 40 kilometers in length and 17 kilometers in width, with a coastline of 154 kilometers.
Located just 18 nautical miles from the Peloponnese coast, its main town and port also called Zakynthos or “Chora” by locals is home to about half of the island’s total population.