Photos show how wildly out of control tourists are this summer
Maria Noyen
- Over the past few months, tourists appear to have become more brazen than ever before.
- This summer, some travelers have defaced monuments or gotten too close to wildlife.
Summer 2023 is turning out to be one of the wildest for tourists on record.
From defacing national monuments like Italy's Colosseum in Rome to tempting fate by getting way too close to wildlife in US national parks, tourists have repeatedly found themselves in the headlines for brazen behavior over the past few months.
The recent uptick in wild tourist stories is likely connected to the sheer number of people traveling overseas this summer. Data from online travel agency Hopper has already shown the demand for international trips outpacing last year, CBS News reported on July 5.
From skirting heat-wave advisories to sticking their hands in hot springs, it's safe to say tourists are out of control this summer — and these photos serve as proof. Take a look.
In July, tourists were photographed visiting Death Valley in California amid a blistering heat wave that saw temperatures reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
Long considered the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley has become a literal hotspot for tourists fascinated by its arid landscape and sweat-inducing temperatures.
However, over the past few weeks the area has been suffering a blistering heat wave that saw temperatures reach as high as 130 degrees Fahrenheit on July 16.
Despite repeated heat warnings and advisories from The National Weather Service (NWS) and National Park Service (NPS), travelers have continued to head to the valley in droves.
This photograph was taken on July 18, when temperatures in the park reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NPS.
Some tourists even went to Death Valley for the sole purpose of experiencing the potentially fatal heat themselves.
Photographs taken at Death Valley, where temperatures got within degrees of breaking the 1913 record of 134 degrees Fahrenheit, showed travelers whipping out their smartphones to snap selfies in front of giant thermometers showcasing the blistering heat levels.
According to one park ranger who spoke with The Weather Channel on July 20, the tourists "want to feel what it feels like to live in such an extreme place."
Another tourist told Channel 4 News in a video shared on July 17 that she was visiting Death Valley for the first time because she thought it would be "a cool thing" to be there for what could be the "hottest day on Earth."
Elsewhere in the US, some of the tourists flocking to national parks have gotten way too close with local wildlife, to their own peril.
This summer has turned into one of the worst for bison in Yellowstone National Park.
Multiple videos have surfaced of tourists getting too close to bison, to do things like snap selfies, despite the park service warning visitors to remain at least 25 yards away from the 2,000-pound beasts.
Some encounters have resulted in the endangerment of people and the bison themselves. In May, a bison calf was euthanized after a tourist pulled it out of a riverbank. The tourist — who in June pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife — said he was trying to help the calf, The New York Times reported.
After a woman was gored by a bison in Yellowstone in July, the park service warned against approaching wildlife, particularly bison, in the summer as it's mating season.
"Bison can become agitated more quickly," the release said. "Use extra caution and give them additional space during this time."
Meanwhile in Italy, multiple tourists have been spotted defacing the Colosseum in Rome, an ancient monument that has stood for thousands of years.
On an annual basis, the Colosseum attracts over 6 million visitors. In recent months, some of these visitors thought it was a good idea to leave their mark on the ancient Roman monument that has stood for roughly 2,000 years.
As Italian news agency ANSA reported, vandalism on the Colosseum can result in $16,000 worth of fines and five years in prison.
The first to make headlines was a 27-year-old fitness instructor living in Bristol, England, who was seen in a YouTube video using a key to carve "Ivan+Haley 23" into the walls of the structure. After he was identified, Dimitrov wrote an apology letter to Rome's mayor and the prosecutor's office, explaining that he was not aware of the Colosseum's age.
Similar instances have cropped up since, including one where a Swiss teenager was filmed carving her initial into the Colosseum by a tour guide, who later said her parents told him: "She's just a little girl."
Just like in Death Valley, tourists continued to visit the Colosseum despite widespread heat warnings issued by the Italian government.
On July 18 — when temperatures in Rome soared to a record 107.24 Fahrenheit, Reuters reported — some of the tourists who braved the extreme heat were photographed using umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun.
Tourists were seen out in the city despite the health ministry issuing red weather alerts to warn people of the dangers of the blistering heat wave, Reuters reported.
Amid the heatwave in Italy, tourists were photographed snapping selfies and crowding around the Trevi fountain.
Some visitors from the US have been determined to stick to their European vacation plans despite the extreme weather conditions and influx of other visitors.
One 25-year-old tourist told the Associated Press she and her friends weren't concerned about the situation in the slightest.
"We kind of saved up, and we know this is a trip that is meaningful," she said, the AP reported on July 13. "We are all in our mid-20s. It's a (moment of) change in our lives. ... This is something special. The crowds don't deter us. We live in Florida. We have all been to Disney World in the heat. We are all good."
In Vatican City, some tourists were snapped using maps of Rome and newspapers to shelter from the sun rays.
The Vatican, a city-state in the middle of Rome where the Pope resides, also welcomes millions of visitors each year.
Not all of the visitors, however, appeared to come prepared for severe heat. A photo taken on July 9 — when temperatures reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit, according to AccuWeather — shows a tourist sheltering under a map of the city.
Elsewhere in Italy, tourists by the thousands were photographed flocking to beaches in a bid to escape the heat.
Over the past week Catania, a city in Sicily, has seen temperatures climb to 117.68 degrees Fahrenheit, or 47.6 degrees Celsius, according to the BBC.
The heat also damaged the city's electrical cables, resulting in power cuts that have left thousands of tourists and locals alike without access to air conditioning and water.
According to the Daily Mail, Italy's civil protection minister Nello Musumeci said the situation brought Catania "to its knees."
The influx of tourists has also led to questions of how sacred buildings can accommodate hordes of visitors and worshippers at the same time.
The Associated Press reported countries in southern Europe have seen tourism levels reach or surpass pre-pandemic levels this summer.
The sheer number of visitors is likely paying a valuable role in boosting national economies, but it has also led to questions of how those countries are handling them visiting sacred spaces where others are going for the purposes of worship, the AP reported.
Photographs shared by the AP in Turkey's Hagia Sophia mosque, for example, show a stark divide between the crowds visiting the place of worship to photograph the art and architecture and those coming to pray.
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