It’s not just Mount Fuji! Here are the places that continue to be ‘victims’ of tourists

AJapanese authorities announced last week that they will block the view of Mount Fuji from the town of Fujikawaguchiko, a popular spot for taking photographs.

According to the agency France-Presse (AFP), the measure comes after several complaints from residents about the behavior of foreign tourists. Therefore, a net 2.5 meters high and 20 meters long will be placed to block the view and construction should begin this week.

The Japanese city is not, however, the only one that has faced problems related to tourists who ‘cross the line’… and end up destroying historic sites.

Although this is not a recent phenomenon, g1 recalled some of the situations that, involving tourists and historical sites, did not go well. Remember them below:

Rome Italy

It hasn’t even been a year since, in July 2023, a British tourist decided to record his love story in one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In Rome, a tourist used a key to engrave his and his girlfriend’s names in the Colosseum, and a video, which went viral on social media, exposed him. The 27-year-old man was located in England by the Italian authorities, and apologized for the situation – saying that “I didn’t know how old the monument was.”

“Through these lines, I would like to offer my sincere and honest apologies to Italians and the entire world for the damage caused to a property that, in truth, is the heritage of all humanity”he wrote in a statement at the time.

But, in addition to the internal walls having been left with ‘Ivan+Haley 23’ last summer, the same had already happened in 2018, when another tourist – a teenager aged 17 at the time – wrote his initial on the same monument and ended up accused of vandalism.

Chichen Itza, Mexico

They won’t be the only monuments, but it seems that the Wonders of the World are prime targets for tourists who like to put themselves at risk – and Chichen Itzá, in Mexico, is an example of this. Climbing the monument has been prohibited since 2008, but in both 2022 and 2023 there were those who took the risk, and in 2022 the woman who did so ended up being attacked, with other visitors asking “prison”.

The following year, another adventurer climbed the monument and the images circulated on social media.

Cairo, Egypt

Still, it is not just the Wonders of the Modern World that have been the target of ‘disrespect’ – the Pyramids of Giza, which are part of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World package, have also been the scene of unusual situations. In 2020, a man of Russian and American nationality climbed one of the pyramids, where he captured a photo. But the situation turned into a nightmare, as the man ended up detained for five days. “I saw horrible things and I wouldn’t wish them on anyone”he said at the time.

Paris, France

Also in the summer of last year, in August, two North American tourists were found sleeping in the Eiffel Tower. The duo was drunk and discovered early in the morning by security guards, being in a part inaccessible to the public – and posing “no threat”.

Read Also: Japanese city blocks view of Mount Fuji to avoid tourists