A dramatic spike in tourist levels on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini has had a detrimental impact on its wine industry, as over three million visitors are expected to descend on the 29-square-mile island this summer. 

Locals have argued that overtourism has led to a spike in prices of agricultural land and is threatening their way of life. 

“It’s going to be a very bad year for Santorini,” Mayor Nikos Zorzos warned, adding that the island can afford “not one single bed more” for accommodation, stressing that this would still be the case even if the infrastructure is improved to help the island cope with higher numbers. 

Santorini, like many other hotspots in Europe, is struggling to handle growing supply problems, crowded streets and economic disparities. 

The island’s famed Greek wine industry is also suffering, as developers continue to buy up agricultural land to build holiday homes. 

“Tourism destroys the vineyards,” wine producer Matthew Argyros told Fortune. “I raise a red flag for the island.”

According to data from the Association of Winemakers of Santorini, grape production in Santorini has dropped by nearly 50 percent over the past two decades. This is an average drop of 2.7 percent per year.

If the trend continues at this rate, the number could drop to zero by 2041. 

Argyros also warned that water shortages are also hampering growth in the vineyards that do remain. Most workers have been lost to the tourism industry as well, he added. 

Argyros’s family winery, set up in 1903, produces about a quarter of the island’s vineyards. 

Antonia Noussia, who lives in the village of Pyrgos, just 3.1 miles from the island’s capital, Fira, said she has visual proof of the decimation of the vineyards. While she used to see grapes growing all the way to the coast, now “only small patches” of vineyards are left, she claimed.  

“You can see people carrying sheets, breakfast supplies, and it doesn’t feel like an inhabited village,” Noussia told Fortune. 

Overtourism is fuelled on Santorini partially by the huge numbers of day-trippers that descend on the island from ferries and cruise ships. On Tuesday alone, 11,000 cruise passengers visited the island. 

Zorzos said that the number of cruise ship passengers should not exceed 8,000 per day, adding that, starting from next year, “we will reinstate this cap to preserve our island as a unique destination”. 

This year, the municipal authority has managed to reduce the number of peak days – where visitors exceeded 10,000 to 11,000 – from 63 in 2023 to just 48 this year, Zorzos added.

According to The Times of India, tourism remains a central part of the Greek economy, comprising a fifth of the country’s GDP in 2023. 

A record 32.7 million tourists visited Greece last year, an 18 percent increase in 2022. This year, that record is set to continue, with the early months witnessing a massive increase in visitors compared to the same period in 2023.