“Half-built” hotels are ruining an island once named the world’s number one, locals have said. Milos was named by Travel and Leisure in 2021 as the world’s best island, but now residents say it is blighted by new construction projects with the potential to harm its precious landscape.

This includes structures springing up near the famous Sarakiniko beach. Some people who call the island home say it is in “construction overdrive”, and are pleased at the prospect of new restrictions.

Another Greek Island, Santorini, attracts some 3.4million tourists each year, even up to 17,000 a day, The Mirror reported. Milos, meanwhile, saw less than half that number in 2023.

Milos’s Mayor, Manolis Mikelis, has warned that delays between drafting and approving a final construction proposal could mean “total destruction” as project managers anticipating future limits rush to preempt them, Ekathimerini reported.

New restriction may hurt smaller landowners, criticis suggest, while other say unmitigated building threatens the island’s ancient beaches and volcanic landscapes.

Milos is not the only destination where builds are said to be posing the threat to its natural features.

Sharon Backhouse, 55, is a director at GeoTenerife – a group campaigning to stop development on the island.

She told The Express earlier this year: “A lot of these people stay here to block the activity. We’re putting pressure on the Government to protect this area.

“They’re just going ahead. All of that should be protected – it’s of international value.”

She then alleged that officials were not taking action against the illegal dwellings so that they have an excuse to allow development of the area.

Campaigners say 100,000 people marched on the streets of Santa Cruz, Tenerife’s largest town, in May.

Placards hoisted included ones that read “Canary Islands shouts enough, our land has a limit”, and “Fewer tourist apartments, more Canarian homes”.

Tenerife welcomed seven million tourists in 2024, with 6.2million of those coming from outside of Spain.