Hands says it is vital tourists respect their surroundings. She recalls some social media influencers with whom she was trekking through Nepal’s Annapurna region rudely placing props in the hands of confused indigenous tribeswomen.

“Be considerate to locals and your environment,” she says. “Of course, we all want to capture beautiful places to remember them forever, but not at the cost of anything.”

A 2016 survey by travel company Topdeck revealed that 36 per cent of 18- to 30-year-olds use social media to help them choose destinations. Here are some of the places paying the price for their popularity.

1. Walker Canyon, California

The rolling green hills of California’s Walker Canyon nature reserve sprang to life with colour in spring, with millions of orange poppies blooming after an unusually wet winter.

But that saw the nature reserve, near the city of Lake Elsinore about 60 miles (95 kilometres) southeast of Los Angeles, inundated with unwanted visitors.

The picturesque spot quickly gained traction on Instagram and in one weekend it was inundated with more than 66,000 tourists grappling to snap the perfect post. The city became flooded with people, causing gridlock on the streets.

Scores of poppies were crushed by inconsiderate visitors trampling through the fields, and streets leading to Walker Canyon were temporarily closed to non-residents. The town’s mayor referred to the unprecedented invasion as an “apoppylypse”, with the hashtag #poppynightmare trending on social media.

2. Rue Crémieux, Paris

Boasting charming cobblestone streets and dainty rows of pastel-coloured houses, Paris’s 12th arrondissement has risen high in the ranks of popular Instagram photo locations.

But those living on the area’s Rue Crémieux – where a delightful row of colourful houses flanks a narrow pedestrianised street – have had enough of curious intruders.

In March, so many people visited the street that the residents’ association described the situation as “hell”.

“We sit down to eat and just outside we have people taking photos, rappers who take two hours to film a video right beneath the window, or hen nights who scream for an hour,” said one resident during a radio interview on France Info. “Frankly, it’s exhausting.”

Fed up, residents have called on Paris authorities to install a gate on the road that would be closed during peak times of sunrise and sunset when masses of tourists gather.

3. Santorini, Greece

The number of holidaymakers travelling to Greece has close to doubled since Instagram launched in 2010, according to official figures, an influx that is putting strain on several of the country’s smaller communities.

The island’s infrastructure, however, has not kept up. Residents complain of overcrowding, and small villages, such as pretty Oia, are paying the price for the island’s social media star status.

In June, it was reported in local media that Santorini’s deputy mayor, Loukas Bellonias, blamed social media for transforming the island from “just another travel destination into one of the most popular in the world”. He added that during summer months, mobile phone companies struggle to provide enough coverage for the thousands of people attempting to upload images.

As of September, the hashtag #santorini appears in over 5.6 million Instagram posts.

4. Lempuyang Temple, Bali

Bali’s famed Lempuyang Temple in Karangasem has turned out to be a huge disappointment for thousands of annual Instagram tourists who make the journey there.

Visitors wanting to replicate the perfect picture of tourists posing in the middle of the temple, their reflection mirrored in a still body of water below, have been left surprised on arrival.

Why? Because it turns out there isn’t any such water to be found at the temple, coined the “Gates of Heaven”. Instead, savvy locals use a mirror to create a clever illusion that seemingly places a pond or lake below the stunning scene.

This has not, however, put people off, with visitors reporting queues of more than two hours waiting to get their fake photo snapped.

5. Delta Lake, Wyoming, US

Last November, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board in the US state of Wyoming made an urgent plea for visitors to stop geotagging images on social media in a bid to keep the state’s stunning forests and remote lakes pristine.

The move came in the wake of a wave of tourists swamping Wyoming’s Delta Lake and surrounding area. The tourism board said the landscape became crowded with flocks of people wanting to capture the picturesque panoramas that went viral on Instagram, thanks to a handful of social media influencers.

The stampedes led to a huge increase in rubbish in the area and patches of wildflowers being trampled.

In a bid to lessen the damage to the delicate ecosystem, the tourism board launched several poster campaigns pleading with people to “Tag locations responsibly” and asking, “How many likes is a patch of dead wildflowers worth?”

6. Choi Hung Estate, Hong Kong

Choi Hung Estate has become particularly popular, with hordes of visitors gathering to take photos of its colourful tower blocks from its bright basketball courts.

Scores of photo takers mean residents are often unable to use the basketball courts and some residents have even reported visitors entering the buildings to take pictures.

Signs cautioning visitors against taking photos and urging them to have consideration for residents have done little to remedy the situation.

7. Tulip fields in The Netherlands

However, armies of tourists have been trampling the tulips, causing farmers to suffer thousands of dollars in damage.

To control the situation, some irate farmers have installed fences around their flowers and put up hoardings reminding visitors to respect their fields.

In April, the Dutch tourist board launched a campaign urging people to take “tulip-friendly selfies” from outside the fields and to use the hashtag “watchyourfeet” in posts. It also compiled a list of dos and don’ts for visitors.

The town of Noordwijkerhout even recruited a team of 40 voluntary guides to teach tourists about the history of tulip fields and remind them why they need to respect the landscape.