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- Tourists are often considered to be obnoxious.
- But there are some travellers who commit faux pas so bad they make international headlines.
- For example, a tourist in Los Angeles caused $US200,000 worth of damage when she knocked over an art display while trying to take a selfie.
Tourists are often considered an obnoxious and intrusive bunch, but some are so bad they make international headlines.
This year was a particularly rough year for tourists around the world.
From damaging hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of art while taking a selfie to causing flight delays by throwing coins into a plane’s engine for good luck, there’s been no shortage of tourist faux pas this year.
Keep reading for the worst tourist horror stories as of late.
Two tourists face up to 10 years in a Thai prison for spray-painting a brick wall from the 13th century.
On Thursday, travellers Brittney Schneider, from Canada, and Lee Furlong, from the United Kingdom, found a can of spray paint on the side of the road in northern Bangkok. The two were inebriated and decided to vandalise the nearest wall – which happened to be the Tha Pae Gate, a popular tourist attraction that dates back to the 13th century.
The two were found within a week because of surveillance footage and were immediately taken to jail. Their bail, which their families paid, was set at 149,000 baht, or roughly $US6,000. While free on bail, they must stay in Thailand until their trial is completed. They are each facing up to a decade in prison.
Schneider doesn’t believe she deserves prison time. She told the radio show “Edmonton AM” that she deserves “a big fine definitely, but I don’t think I deserve prison for this.”
A group of teens pushed a rock off a crag at Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire, England, causing irreparable damage to a landmark that’s millions of years old.
According to the North Yorkshire Police, a group of five young people were seen pushing a rock off a crag at Brimham Rocks, a National Trust site in North Yorkshire, England, that dates back millions of years. The rock formation has been shaped by centuries of wind, rain, and ice.
“The incident has not only caused considerable damage to both the rock and the crag face, but those responsible also put themselves in danger and have created a potential hazard for other visitors to Brimham Rocks,” the police said.
A tourist damaged an 800-year-old museum artifact just so he could take a photo of his kid.
One family in the UK disregarded museum rules (and common sense) when they placed their baby inside an ancient artifact for a photo-op.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, the family placed the child inside an 800-year-old sandstone coffin, which caused it to fall off its stand.
While the incident only caused about $US130 worth of damage, the disregard for historical preservation for the sake of a photo is priceless.
Read more here.
A woman slapped an airline gate agent after she was told check-in had closed for her flight.
Travelling can be frustrating, but there’s no excuse for getting violent with airline staff. However, a passenger on an AirFrance flight flying from Wuhan, China, to Paris was captured in June 2017 on a security camera slapping a gate agent after learning that she had missed check-in for her flight.
The passenger told airline staff she had an important conference to attend, according to the South China Morning Post. She was subsequently arrested and blacklisted from future AirFrance flights.
A woman shattered a piece of art worth $US800,000 while taking a selfie — and made the exhibit shut down for three days.
Artist Yayoi Kusama’s mind-bending exhibit “Infinity Mirrors” is undoubtedly photo-worthy. However, one tourist in Washington, DC, took a selfie too far and severely damaged a piece of art in the exhibition.
The exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum was closed for three days after a visitor broke a glass pumpkin, causing an estimated $US800,000 worth of damage, according to The New York Times.
A tourist threw a glove at a member of the Queen’s Guard in London just to mess with him.
Members of the Queen’s Guard are known for their stoic disposition. But one tourist decided to try to get a reaction out of a guard by throwing her glove at him.
She was quickly reprimanded by another type of guard, called a Beefeater, as shown by a video posted on YouTube.
“The army’s here to protect the crown jewels. He is not here for the public to make fun of,” he said. The Beefeater returned the woman’s glove before the disrespectful tourists went on their way.
Read more here.
A shopper in China fainted after breaking a bracelet worth $US44,000 in a jewellery shop.
A woman shopping in a jewellery store in southwest China was in for an expensive surprise when she accidentally broke a jade bracelet priced at $US44,000 when converted to USD.
The woman tried on the bracelet but quickly started taking it off after she was told the item’s hefty price tag. She subsequently dropped the bracelet, breaking it in half. Even though the shop’s staff tried to calm the woman, she fainted in response to the incident, according to the BBC.
The shopper and the jewellery-store owners were negotiating for an appropriate compensation, but had not come to an agreement as of June 2017.
A woman in Los Angeles destroyed $US200,000 worth of art while taking a selfie.
This cringe-worthy video of a selfie gone wrong, captured on a security camera, has racked up nearly 7 million views on YouTube.
The incident took place at an installation by artist Simon Birch at The 14th Factory in Los Angeles. The installation, called “Hypercaine,” featured a display of delicate crowns on pedestals.
The video shows a woman crouching down to take a selfie in front of the art and subsequently knocking over an entire column of pedestals, apparently causing$US200,000 worth of damage.
Read more here.
An airline passenger threw a coin into a plane’s engine for good luck, causing her flight to be delayed.
While many people are superstitious about flying, most don’t react by damaging the aeroplane they’re about to board.
A passenger flying from Shanghai to Guangzhou, China, caused her flight to be delayed after she threw coins into the plane’s engine for good luck.
Mechanics recovered nine coins from the area, including one inside the engine. While the coins did not seriously damage the plane, they could have been detrimental if they’d been sucked in by the engine, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
Read more here.
Tourists killed a baby dolphin in Spain while trying to take a selfie with it.
Tourists on a beach in southern Spain were responsible for the death of a baby dolphin in August 2017. Many were seen taking photos with the animal and taking it out of the water.
Rescue crews arrived on the scene about 15 minutes after the dolphin was first spotted, but it was too late, according to Travel + Leisure.
Tourists were seen blocking the dolphin’s blowhole in photos, which could have contributed to its death. Equinac, an animal rescue organisation, posted on Facebook about the incident, saying that crowding around animals causes shock and respiratory failure.
Tourists in Thailand were arrested for taking nude photos at a historic temple.
Two tourists from the United States were arrested in Thailand after taking nude photos at the Wat Arun temple in Bangkok, according to The Telegraph.
The men travelled around the world posting nude photos on their now-deleted Instagram account, “Travelling Butts,” including at the historic temple in Bangkok.
After posting the photo, the tourists were detained, fined for public indecency, and blacklisted from returning to the country.
A man purposely kicked and destroyed a thousands-of-years-old stalagmite in a cave in China.
A man travelling in China’s Guizhou province was in a group of tourists taking photos of a cave in Songtao county when he kicked a nearly 20-inch stalagmite several times, according to the South China Morning Post.
A video posted on YouTube shows the man deliberately kicking the rock formation until it falls over, destroying something that likely took thousands of years to form naturally.
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