Europe’s most unwelcoming destinations for British tourists

The Greek island of Santorini has boomed in popularity since the dawn of social media platforms like Instagram, with tourists queueing to capture that definitive shot of the white-walled, blue-domed buildings of Oia. It means the island’s population of 15,000 swells to more than two million each summer.

Santorini’s rise in popularity has made it difficult for residents to find affordable housing. One taxi driver told The Telegraph that some workers have been forced to camp out on the beach or live in caves. The local authorities have also taken action to cap the number of cruise ships that can dock in Santorini; last year 800 visited the island, making it the most popular in Greece.

For now, the hostility against tourism remains targeted at officials, rather than tourists themselves; wine growers, for example, have complained that they are losing land to new hotels.

“Although Greeks are up in arms about the results of overtourism, their anger tends to be directed at what they perceive as the laxity of their own lawmakers and officials,” says The Telegraph’s Greece expert, Heidi Fuller-Love.

Hostility ranking: 4/10

Capri

In peak season, as many as 16,000 tourists per day flock to Capri, outnumbering its 12,900 residents. In a rather half-baked attempt to limit visitor numbers (or perhaps, more accurately, to cash in on them), Capri this year doubled its entry fee from €2.50 to €5, payable when boarding a ferry from nearby Naples or Sorrento from April through to October.

Despite simmering resentment over the tide of apartment rentals that have emerged on the island since the Airbnb boom (there are more than 500 today, up from 110 in 2016), there have not been any anti-tourist protests on the island as seen elsewhere in the Med. Tourists are more likely to experience confrontation in another form: using disposable plates, cups or cutlery on the island comes with a fine of €500 (£425).

Capri’s mayor, Marino Lembo, says the notion of the island being ruined by tourism is overblown. “I don’t agree with nostalgics who say Capri was more beautiful 100 years ago. There was misery and poverty back then. Now there is wealth, and that is thanks to tourism,” he told Reuters.

Hostility ranking: 3/10

Provence