Tourist slammed for “irresponsible” and “disrespectful” video
A tourist has been branded an “idiot” and a “moron” after sharing an “irresponsible” and “disrespectful” video of his trip to Iceland on YouTube.
The footage shows an unidentified hiker traversing a narrow ledge above the Fjadrargljufur canyon in the country’s south. It’s outraged not only the internet, but also locals.
Why? For two good reasons.
Number one, it’s incredibly dangerous. The hiker doesn’t seem to be wearing the proper safety equipment despite walking across a ledge 100m above the Fjaora river that is barely as wide as the tourist's foot in some parts.
Number two, it’s highly damaging to Iceland’s delicate ecosystem. “The nature is getting torn up in that area because people don’t respect boundaries,” one local tour operator told The Independent. “Now this person has made a video of their stupidity and posted it online, it will probably motivate more irresponsible tourists to do stupid things.”
YouTube commenters haven’t taken kindly to the footage, either. “It’s people like you that cause the most nature vandalism in Iceland,” one person wrote. “You just motivated thousands of people to ignore ropes put up to protect nature. All the damage caused by those who you inspired is your fault.”
According to forecasts, around 2.3 million tourists are expected to visit Iceland this year, almost seven times Iceland’s population of just 335,000.
The huge increase in visitors has even prompted the island nation’s official tourism site to create “The Icelandic Pledge”, encouraging travellers to be safe, respectful and responsible when exploring the rugged terrain.
Have you ever visited Iceland? What do you think of this irresponsible video? Let us know in the comments below.