This tiny Maltese island has served as a backdrop in films and series such as The Count of Monte Cristo, Troy and even briefly in Game of Thrones. The Blue Lagoon on Comino was already a well-known cinematic gem but social media has caused its popularity to soar with tourists as its bright iridescent waters began attracting travellers from around the world in search of the perfect photo.

The 3km-by-5km islet is a sun-baked slab of rock surrounded by a shimmering bright turquoise water and used to be a near-empty haven in the Maltese archipelago. But today it's a different story. "It's at the top of many visitors' bucket lists when they come to the Maltese islands," Rebecca Millo, head of marketing and corporate communications at KM Malta, the country's national airline, told the BBC. "Many people just want to go straight there." The trouble with that, according to Colin Backhouse who runs a popular Facebook page Malta Holiday Experiences, with more than 51,000 followers, is the blue lagoon and Comino is completely over-run in the summer months.

Comino's vivid blue lagoon lures tens of thousands of visitors across the globe and most descend in the summer months for a dip in the waters that become so crowded you can barely move let alone find a spot on the surrounding rocks to sit down.

Mr Backhouse told the BBC: "It's wonderful out of season but in summer? You couldn't pay me to go near it. It’s hell on Earth."

Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds jostle for space, litter spills from overflowing bins and gas-guzzling powerboats blast music and leave behind a trail of environmental damage.

In the December to February low season, the bay’s waters remain barely disturbed. The shoreline is silent, the coastline untouched.

Mr Backhouse continued: "I first visited in 1980. Back then, you could have the whole place to yourself. Unfortunately, I've seen first-hand the destruction over the decades. I really don't know why people bother anymore."

Disillusioned visitors agree with going as far as to call the day-trip experience from Malta a "scam". Overcrowded boats, limited amenities and worsening environmental degradation have led to mounting pressure on authorities to act.

In 2022, a local group called Movimenti Graffiti took matters into their own hands by stripping the island of its deckchairs and sunbeds in what they saw as exploitation of public space for private profit. Their message was clear that Comino should be protected, not plundered.

Now for the summer season of 2025, in an effort to curb mass tourism and relieve pressure on the islet, which is a designated Natura 2000 site, Maltese authorities are introducing a daily visitor cap – reducing the number of tour boat day-trippers from 10,000 to 5,000.

Mark Sultana, CEO of BirdLife Malta, said: "Limiting numbers is a good start. But we need a public sustainability plan that doesn't just focus on crowd control but also on preserving Comino's fragile ecosystem. We are insisting it should have a ticket control system where only a capped number of tickets can be issued each day."

Malta tour guide Joanne Gatt hears a recurring complaint from tourists - visiting the tiny isle isn't the experience they signed up for. "They go to Comino expecting paradise and leave disappointed," she says. "Overcrowded, chaotic. Hopefully the cap on visitors will make a real difference."

Across the Mediterranean, governments are tightening regulations to combat overtourism. Venice has introduced entry fees for daytrippers while Athens has capped daily visitors numbers to the Acropolis. These shifts signal a broader push towards more sustainable travel.