Another day, another headline of tourists behaving badly. Unsurprisingly, in the social-media-crazed age that we are living in, this story involves a selfie.
The Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in Rome and a world-famous tourist attraction. Completed in 1762, this iconic fountain attracts hordes of tourists daily, most of whom want to throw a coin over their shoulder into the water and more recently, want to take the perfect selfie. It was this pursuit of selfie glory that led to a brawl involving eight people this week.
Reports indicate that a verbal dispute between a 19-year-old woman from the Netherlands and a 44-year-old Italian-American woman over the perfect selfie spot soon turned physical with family members on both sides joining in the fray. It took four police officers to break up the fight and eight people were charged over the altercation. While reportedly, the participants suffered only minor bruises, this incident once again highlights the delicate balance that local administrators are trying to strike at popular tourist attractions around the world between welcoming the influx of tourism and preserving the sites and local culture. Unfortunately, stories of tourists seeking Instagram fame and leaving a path of destruction in their wake are becoming increasingly all too common.
Lead image by Karelj via Wikimedia Commons, used under public domain.
That's awesome, who needs Jerry Springer?
All parties should have ended up taking selfies ..... in jail
new trend, mugshot selfie?
#StripesAreSlimming
Instagram strikes again....
The one in Las Vegas is much less crowded
I find this disease a source of constant fascination.
If you want that perfect spot all to yourself? Get up early!
Some people just shouldn't travel.
Was there, October 2017. People are nuts, they brawl over selfies all the time. Don't know why but the chinese tourists are the worst, they are selfie crazy, never saw anything like it.
These atractions, you better wake up like 5am and walk to these places when the sun rises, otherwise be prepared for that.
I've ended up quitting on going there, impossible. Noticed the same pattern all over Firenze (Florence) and this year in Belgium, Brussels and Bruges are impossible aswell, crowds of asian tourists everywhere, doing stunts for a selfie, some risky as hell.
Now here in Lisbon - Portugal , again portuguese "inside tourists" destroyed a 125 year old limestone statue of Dom Sebastião, one of our kings, by climbing into it for a selfie. It is just insane.
The moment I heard about the statue, I was like "please don't let this be an American."
Nah, actually it was destroyed by a fellow portuguese who is now in great trouble. I do find american tourists quite respectful, at least those whom i've interacted with.
I avoid as many of these types of spots as possible. We are planning a trip to Italy, and Rome and Venice are not on the list because of crowds.
There are increasing reports from Italy, among other countries, where locals are seriously fed up with tourists. I wonder why... *Deadpanning* Even as a tourist myself in places like Rome and Venice I feel like puking all over my fellow tourists and I take a blitzkrieg approach to visiting the more popular sites. Get in there fast and be done with it, preferably at odd hours of the day. Luckily I have an "acquired taste" when it comes to things I want to see.