Picture this: you arrive in Comino, mobile phone in hand and rush to buy a cocktail served in a pineapple. You then quickly climb up to a spot as high up as possible overlooking Blue Lagoon to get the perfect shot, embellished with pineapple and clear, blue sea.

But while you’re busy adjusting your freshly-bought pineapple before it starts to drip juice all over your phone, you take a step back to think of the caption to go with the Instagram post you’ve been so keen on sharing.  It is only as you start stepping back that you realise all the people who were with you on the boat to Comino are doing exactly the same thing.

This is Instagram versus reality live in action.

A quick search for #Comino or @Blue Lagoon Malta on Instagram brings up a sea of perfect shots of the popular beach and its surroundings.

While the allure of taking photos of landmark places is not new, especially while on holiday, the rise in popularity of social media now often results in crowds gathering in one spot simply to get the ‘perfect’ shot. And Comino is no different, with those heading to the island for the first time often eager to get their own version of the shot they have seen countless times on Instagram.

But while a quick search for #Comino or @Blue Lagoon Malta on Instagram brings up a sea of perfect shots of the popular beach and its surroundings, the reality on the island is a far cry from what is available online.

First off, finding a spot without any people in the background can often prove to be difficult unless you arrive on the island before 8am. In recent years, Comino has become overcrowded, with boats packed with tourists constantly docking near the Blue Lagoon. Locals who had, for years, looked forward to trips to the island every summer say they now tend to avoid visiting, especially in the warmer months.

Locals who had, for years, looked forward to trips to the island every summer say they now tend to avoid visiting, especially in the warmer months

Aside from the crowds, those visiting Comino are immediately met with scores of deckchairs by the water’s edge. Large kiosks selling a variety of fast foods also line the road overlooking the small, sandy beach. And although the pineapple shot seems to be the most coveted, with most of the photos shared online often featuring the fruit, a short stroll along the Blue Lagoon shore reveals the real impact of this trend.

Dried-up pineapples are discarded all over the Comino shore, along with used take-away boxes, beer cans and plastic bottles.

Surprisingly, despite Comino being one of the most popular spots with tourists visiting Malta, the Instagram pages for both the Malta Tourism Authority and Visit Malta rarely feature shots of the island. While the authority’s page did not once feature Comino this summer, the Visit Malta page shared one photo of the island at the start of the summer.

During a recent visit to the island, Times of Malta spotted several dried-up pineapples discarded all over the shore, along with used take-away boxes, beer cans and plastic bottles. During the same visit, a number of tourists admitted they decided to visit the island after seeing stunning photos of the blue waters on social media.

They admitted, however, they were disappointed the reality was unlike what they had seen on Instagram. “I was going to take a picture and I didn’t because I didn’t like the fact that I saw so many umbrellas,” one tourist said.

In recent years, activists have repeatedly complained about the situation on the small island getting out of hand. Earlier in August, more than 100 people answered a call by NGO Moviment Graffitti to descend on the Comino bay to protest the rampant commercialisation of the Blue Lagoon. It was its second protest this summer.

In June, the activists had also protested by clearing the bay of sunbeds and umbrellas. Their demands include a ban on large boats docking at Comino, a limit of two kiosks without music, and strict waste rules, coupled with daily waste collection.

Meanwhile, last Monday, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo promised that the problems on Comino will be “solved by next summer”.