This once-peaceful European island is now overrun by 10,000 tourists per day (2025)

Found between balmy Sicily and the North African coast, Malta is famous for its silky sands, turquoise waters, and ancient ruins.

And approximately 20 minutes away from the mainland lies the island of Comino – known for the Blue Lagoon, a natural wide pool that, formed partially of sand and mostly of rock, has become hugely popular with tourists. It measures just 1.4 square miles.

But what was once a ‘peaceful’ destination is now overrun by 10,000 tourists each day – and locals are increasingly fed up with an industry that’s bringing ‘unsustainable’ numbers to the area during high season.

In February, Malta’s tourism minister Ian Borg pledged to ‘clean up’ Comino, introducing a capacity cap to prevent commercial boat operators from overwhelming the area.

‘During July and August, 10,000 people descend on Comino’s Blue Lagoon every day, and that’s too many,’ Borg outlined, according to reports in The Times of Malta.

He added that the island couldn’t ‘keep permitting operators to unload boatloads of 700 or 800 passengers at one time in such a small space,’ noting that the ‘plan is to reduce the number of passengers by half.’

In 2022, local campaign group Moviment Graffiti removed all the deckchairs and umbrellas from Comino, which is a bird sanctuary and nature reserve, to protest against the commercialisation of the area.

Now, they’re welcoming Borg’s measures against the activities of the tourist boasts which they say ‘left unchecked’ has ‘led to the degradation of the Blue Lagoon, and of Comino in general.’

‘We hope that the proposed measures will primarily target these tourist activities and not result in a cap which prioritises large tourist operators over services used by residents of the Maltese Islands to enjoy Comino,’ a post on the movement’s website reads.

‘We are also pleased to hear that Minister Borg is planning to better organise the kiosks operating on Comino,’ they add, noting that the current number permitted to operate is ‘unsustainable.’

Other campaigners are similarly concerned about the impact overtourism is having on Comino’s wildlife, with Mark Sultana, chief executive officer of BirdLife Malta, describing the island’s current state as a ‘disaster.’

‘When you have 10,000 people on the island, there’s noise disturbance, the vegetation gets trampled and there is all the waste that is produced, which is a very big problem,’ he told The Telegraph.

He added that there’s a complete ‘rodent infestation,’ and that ‘rats go down the burrows of birds like shearwaters and eat the eggs.’

It’s no secret that locals feel that Comino has become completely overrun. Posting on the r/Malta Subreddit, @E190wings posted a ‘rant’ about what ‘used to be [a] peaceful’ island.

‘Look at it now, Blue Lagoon is filled with people blasting loud music and crowds (always has been but I feel it’s got worse),’ they penned.

‘I only recently came back to Malta (always has been and will be my special place) and went to Comino, knowing there was going to be many people, but not expecting this much, and the radio wars [of] who can play the loudest song.’

@rhinosorcery added: ‘Okay, it’s a nice beach, but I have no idea why anybody decided it’s a “must-see.” There are many beautiful beaches in Malta and honestly, if I were visiting, I would just avoid Blue Lagoon because of the crowds.’

However, they felt that as long as they ‘could remember,’ ‘it’s always been very, very crowded.’

Meanwhile, the last time @bluedemonfox visited it was so packed that ‘everyone seemed cramped shoulder to shoulder along the whole shoreline. It looked pretty dismal.’

And for @GozoXaghra, Comino’s ‘main attraction’ is the ‘whole island itself’ rather than just the famed Blue Lagoon.

‘Instead, go for a hike throughout the island. Comino offers some marvellous views and there are also a number of historic buildings,’ they advised.

‘You can also swim in Comino’s other bays, which are usually not that overcrowded.’

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