A fight for a selfie from Mount Everest and paintballing in virgin nature. What's the worst thing hikers have done (and done) in 2024?
A bachelor party? Unfortunately, literally
In an example of some of the worst tourists of 2024, Fodor's cited a group that got into a fight in a restaurant in Mallorca, leading to the arrest of eight Brits who were there for a stag party.
The brawl started when one of the staff asked those involved not to throw beer cans and rubbish into the sea, resulting in two police officers and one waiter being injured. Local councillors said the reaction of the Britons was "extremely violent", and police added that they had been drinking excessively during their hotel stay in Palma.
When punches are thrown over a selfie...
Other violent tourists also made the list. In June, two couples were filmed fighting on a viewing platform in Tibet, allegedly because they wanted to secure the best spot to take a selfie while attempting to climb Mount Everest.
During the fight, the video shows the two men wrestling on the ground and punching each other with their fists. While the first woman tried to drag one of the men away, the second woman joined in and started kicking one of the men. All four ended up in custody.
Shame all the way to the front page
Also on the list were several tourists who had no thought to heed the social etiquette of the country they were visiting.
Fodor's cites a case in January 2024 where two women decided to sunbathe outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok, as well as two other tourists who were seen sunbathing next to a temple in Chiang Mai. Both incidents made headlines across Asia.
Another mention was earned by tourists dancing on a Fujikyu Railway train in Japan, after which they posted it on social media, sparking outrage on the Internet.
The train operator said, "We do not tolerate any dangerous or disruptive behaviour on our vehicles - or any behaviour that interferes with the safe operation of our trains."
Zdroj: Giphy
Nudity on top of a dune? Bad idea
A group of men in Namibia have also attracted criticism - earning a place on the list of tourist offences after posing naked atop the popular Big Daddy dune in the Namib Desert while taking photos. Officials described the act as a public outrage, violating park regulations and national laws.
Fodor's hasn't forgotten July, when a tourist was filmed having sex with a life-size statue of Bacchus, the god of wine, pleasure and fertility, in Florence. The local culture ministry was outraged when people widely shared the footage of the tourist on social media, which also led to angry reactions from other users.
Other entries on the list were about damaging historical sites - such as parkour tourists climbing and jumping on ancient buildings in the Italian city of Matera, a Unesco World Heritage Site. A piece of one building collapsed along with a man who was free running on it.
A misplaced paintball and an attacked bison
The last three spots in the top 10 were taken by the damage caused to the natural environment - for example, when three German tourists fired paintballs all over Joshua Tree National Park in the USA in August, or when a man kicked a bison in Yellowstone National Park and was arrested as a result.
Finally, the Fodor's review was completed by two men from Nevada who were accused of damaging 140 million year old rock formations in a US national park - the video in which they were captured went viral. Eventually, they went on trial.
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