Santorini in July is not the Santorini in the photos.
It is narrow paths so congested that locals have requested crowd limits at certain viewpoints. Cruise ships offloading thousands of visitors per day. Wait times, heat, noise, and the particular disappointment of traveling far to experience something that felt more alive as an Instagram image than in person.
Santorini made the 2026 Fodor's No List. So did Venice, Dubrovnik, Mexico City, Glacier National Park, and the Canary Islands. This is a list that documents destinations where visitor volume has significantly degraded the experience—for travelers and for the communities that depend on tourism.
The client who has their heart set on Santorini is not wrong for wanting it. They are working from stock travel photography images capturing the pure beauty of this very special place. Your job as a travel advisor is not to take that dream away—it is to set expectations, send them during the right time of the year so they can experience the best version of the dream, or find them a better dream. That is one of the most valuable conversations a travel advisor can have.
Clients generally come to advisors with a destination already in mind. Moving them away from that destination can feel like overstepping—like you are dismissing something they have been looking forward to.
The reframe that works best is this: it’s not talking them out of a dream but rather helping them understand why a different destination might actually deliver the experience they are dreaming about more fully than the original one would.
This requires knowing two things. First, what is the client actually drawn to—what experience, feeling, or visual are they chasing? And second, what destination delivers that experience in a way that is less crowded, more authentic, and ultimately more memorable?
When you can answer both questions clearly, the redirect becomes a genuine gift rather than a lecture on travel ethics.
Lead with curiosity, not concern. "Tell me what draws you to Santorini—is it the scenery, the relaxed pace, the food, the romantic atmosphere?" Let them describe the experience they are imagining.
Then introduce what you know honestly: "I want to be upfront with you—Santorini in peak season is genuinely one of the most crowded destinations in Europe right now. A lot of advisors won't mention that because it's still a beautiful place, but I'd rather tell you so you can make the choice knowing what the experience is actually like on the ground."
Most clients, once given accurate information by someone they trust, are open to alternatives. The key is to give them more information, not override their judgment. The final choice is always theirs.
The ability to identify and alert clients to travel trends is one of the clearest demonstrations of why a travel advisor adds value that an OTA simply cannot.
A booking engine will take the client's Santorini search and book Santorini. It does not know what the client actually wants from the trip, it cannot gauge whether this particular client would find the crowds frustrating or exciting, and it certainly will not redirect them toward Milos.
Advisors can do all three. And a client who went to Milos instead of Santorini and had the trip they imagined—quieter, more beautiful, more theirs—will tell everyone they know.
The deeper point is this: the value of an advisor is not just logistical. It is editorial. It is advisory. Advisors help clients make better choices than they would have made alone, based on knowledge they did not have and did not know to look for. That is not a function any algorithm replaces.
Building destination knowledge, including the alternatives to the obvious places—is part of the ongoing investment this career requires. The advisors who are most fluent in this conversation are the ones who stay curious, who read pieces like the Fodor's No Lists and the destination intelligence reports, who ask their fellow advisors what their clients are experiencing and where they have been redirecting clients toward this year.
The overtourism conversation is not a difficult one when you know your alternatives. Instead, it it can be one of the most satisfying conversations in this business.