Every so often, another news article is released with a frustrating, disheartening tale about a misbehaved tourist. Usually, it’s a story about a tourist wrecking something by being clumsy, carving or writing their name on a famous monument, or trying to steal something as a souvenir. Other tourists are responsible for breaking artistic masterpieces during an ill-conceived selfie, or stealing a piece of rock from an ancient site.
For those of us who love to travel to discover and experience amazing sights, art, and locations, it’s often jaw-dropping to learn that somebody out there has such disregard for the places we love. While it’s even more bewildering when those tourists have the audacity to damage things in front of public crowds, in recent years social media has been helpful in locating guilty vandals, and hopefully discourage these things from happening in the future.
Let’s have a look at some of the times tourists wrecked something whilst on holidays!
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Vandalism Of The Colosseum
An English couple was filmed scrawling “Ivan+Hayley 23” into the walls of the Colosseum in 2023. The video, posted onto social media, was widely condemned, and the couple was found and fined tens of thousands of Euros. But graffitiing the Colosseum has happened many times over the past. Two American tourists were caught carving their names in Rome’s Colosseum in 2015. Separating from their tour group, the women aged 21 and 25 used a coin to initial “J” and “N”. They were caught and prosecuted. Indeed, even 18th century painters, and 1st century Roman visitors graffitied the Colosseum!
Tourist Carves His Name In The Temple Of Luxor
In 2013, a 15 year old Chinese tourist wrote his name across a stone sculpture in a 3,500 year-old Egyptian temple. The message “Ding Jinhao was here” was scratched across the torso of an Egyptian figure in the temple of Luxor, a 14th century BCE temple complex built by Amenhotep III. The message was then photographed by another Chinese tourist and shared on micro-blogging site Weibo. Outrage spread throughout Egypt, China, and the world. The guilty vandal had his name, date of birth, and school posted online, and once he was tracked down his parents apologised for the deed.
Broken Buddha at Bayon, Cambodia
In 2014, a tourist from New Zealand was found responsible for shattering a one-metre tall Buddha statue in the Bayon temple of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complexes. While she was questioned by police for staying overnight illegally, it wasn’t until her release that the broken Buddha was discovered.
Spray Painting Of Machu Picchu
In 2004, two Chilean tourists were caught spray painting on a wall at the 600 year-old ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. They were sentenced to six months jail time, but were released after paying US$100,000 in damages. Another group of 6 tourists were caught and arrested in 2020 after staying overnight in a restricted area of Machu Picchu, removing stones, and defecating on the grounds.
Stealing Sand From Sardinian Beaches
Tourists have been repeatedly been caught stealing sand from beaches in Sardinia, Italy. The famed white sand is iconic to the island, and removing it is punishable by fines. Dozens of tourists have been fined over the years, including one French couple who were caught with 40kg of sand in plastic bottles in 2019!
Breaking Toes Off An Antonio Canova Sculpture
Three toes of a 19th century sculpture were snapped off by an Austrian tourist in 2020, whilst visiting the Gipsoteca Museum in Possangno, Italy. Attempting to snap a photo, the man sat on the 200 year-old plaster cast by famed sculptor Antonio Canova, breaking it. He was easily identified by his Covid check-in details.
Tourist Steals Marble From The Acropolis
A 26-year old tourist was caught stealing stones and pieces of marble from the Acropolis in Athens in 2023. Police arrested the man, who was found with 33 stones, and 3 pieces of marble – an extraordinary haul of stone to try and pack in his suitcase!
Breaking The Ear Off An Easter Island Statue
In 2008, a Finnish tourist made headlines for snapping the earlobe off a stone Moai statue on Easter Island in an attempt to steal it. He was caught and charged $17,000. In 2020, a Chilean man destroyed a Moai when his truck brakes failed, and he rolled off the road and collided with one.
The Extensive Vandalism Of The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagan has been the target of vandals for over a century, and has suffered paint thrown at it, pieces being hacked off, and even being blown up with explosives.
Broken Hercules At The Loggia Dei Militi
Tourists visiting the Loggia dei Militi in Cremona, Italy in 2015 were responsible for breaking pieces off a priceless sculpture of two Hercules figures raising a shield. In the name of a selfie, the two vandals decided to hang off the statue with their full weight.
Destroying Million Year Old Rock Formations At Goblin Valley State Park
In 2013, three men were charged after filming themselves toppling over a ‘Goblin’, a mushroom-shaped weathered rock formation created over millions of years in Goblin Valley State Park in Utah, USA. Later interviewed, the men claimed without remorse that they were helping remove a hazard for other visitors.
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The amount of disrespect and ignorance that tourists have towards these incredible places is sometimes quite astounding. In many cases, the vandals aren’t even aware of the significant of the monument or artwork that they’re visiting, and it makes one wonder why they came to visit in the first place.
Thankfully, it is encouraging to see the decisive responses to vandalism to tourist sites, with hefty fines and sometimes jail time imposed on perpetrators. And while mass tourism often brings large numbers of people to places that they might not understand or even be interested in in the first place, there are often plenty of smartphone cameras around to capture wrongdoers in the act.
StickyMangoRice 