Travelers beware: Tourist excesses are sparking new laws and stricter enforcement
It might seem like harmless fun. But throughout the world travelers need to beware of following impulses: They face an increased likelihood of fines or even jail for misbehavior as an epidemic of injuries, damage and violations of local standards caused by tourists’ antics are sparking new laws and stricter enforcement.
In Italy, the mayor of Florence is calling for legislation that would punish those who damage public art with hefty prison terms, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. There have been several recent incidents in which tourists clambering on statues to take photos managed to damage them, and two women from California were arrested on vandalism charges in March after scratching their initials into the walls of Rome’s Colosseum and photographing the damage.
In Spain, the mayor of Barcelona has refused to issue permits for new hotels.
In Malaysia, four tourists from Great Britain, Canada and the Netherlands were recently arrested for public indecency and spent three days behind bars after allegedly posing for naked selfies on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo.
And in multiple countries officials are looking at ways to reduce alcohol consumption. Another issue is so-called balconing—jumping between building balconies or diving from one into a swimming pool.
Part of the problem is a trend toward viewing travel as an opportunity to take pictures of oneself in exotic locations, rather than an opportunity to interact with people from another country or culture, experts tell the newspaper.
“It used to be fine to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower or Mount Everest, but that’s not good enough anymore,” said assistant communications professor Jesse Fox of Ohio State University, who has done research on those who post selfies on social media. “Now tourists have to put themselves in the picture It’s about ‘me,’ not about the place that I visit.”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “UK Couple Gets 3 Months in Dubai Beach Sex Case”
ABAJournal.com: “Picking up stones on beach gets American tourist criminally prosecuted in Turkey”
ABAJournal.com: “Stripped of Boy Scout leadership posts, 2 men avoid jail in case of toppled ancient rocks”
ABAJournal.com: “Woman gets time served in beach-sex case; state seeks 2.5 years for man”
