A Greek island has created a slick new video to attract more tourists after claims of overcrowding. Santorini‘s latest tourism campaign aims to showcase a different side to the popular holiday hotspot in the Aegean Sea.

Launched ahead of this year’s tourism season, the video was unveiled at Athens‘ Acropolis Museum. Its narrator invites viewers to awaken their senses and take a “journey into a feeling, a memory”. Footage shows a couple taking in the island’s various streets and sites as they “witness history”. Georgia Nomikou, President of the island’s Tourism Committee, told Greek Reporter: “Our goal is to illuminate the invisible face of Santorini. To showcase images, moments, and stories that go beyond the postcard image and invite people to discover the island as it truly is.”

Santorini hit the headlines last summer amid claims its streets were overcrowded with tourists. Some locals called for limits to the number of tourists visiting their island home.

Videos posted on TikTok and Instagram in 2024 showed packed streets in the capital, Fira, and the village of Oia. Reports suggested those flocking to the island were cruise ship passengers, with the streets reportedly empty after 9pm.

Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator, told CNN in August that social media was showing something completely different to the “reality”. He said hotels at that time were “more or less under 30% of a normal season”.

The island’s tourism chiefs may also be anxious tremors earlier this year could put some travellers off, though it has been declared safe since.

Santorini Mayor Nikos Zorzos is reported to have told the 2025 campaign launch that the island needs to refocus on its identity.

He said: “Starting this year, we will seek authenticity through actions and experiences that bring us closer to the place we claim to admire but often overlook.”

Mr Zorsoz has previously pushed for limits to the number of visitors Santorini takes in, urging authorities not to allow any extra beds and for a cap on the number of cruise ship passengers.

Reuters reported in July last year that for many of Santorini’s 20,000 permanent residents, the once idyllic island has been ruined by mass tourism.

The island is just one popular European holiday destination where some locals have called for action to better manage visitors and their impact on the environment, housing costs and resources.

Similar concerns have been raised in Barcelona, Venice, the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, where mass protests against overtourism have taken place.