removing one’s clothing to the waist at a place of worship. Crossing a famous but flimsy medieval bridge in a car. Making your name into a global symbol and embarking on a strenuous hike—all to consume illicit drugs.
These are but a few of the activities that travellers engaged in in 2023. They have destroyed historical buildings, consumed rare animals, and, in the case of one couple, pilfered wine valued at almost $2 million from a Michelin-starred eatery. They have allegedly flashed in front of children and insulted border guards. And when exposed, they have frequently claimed ignorance.
Here are 25 of the most horrific events that occurred in 2023.
January
Italy has long been a hotbed of misbehaviour among visitors who treat the country like a theme park. The year began in a foreboding fashion when an American was discovered driving across Florence’s pedestrianised Ponte Vecchio bridge. The Ponte Vecchio, the most famous bridge in Italy, was originally constructed during the Middle Ages and later rebuilt to link the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Galleries. The Medici family, who controlled both the former and the latter, are said to have been so taken by the bridge’s beauty that they decided to leave it intact during World War II after Hitler fell in love with it while visiting Mussolini. For driving over it, the 34-year-old American was fined 500 euros.
February
Both heritage and wildlife had a rough start to the year. A Chinese influencer who livestreamed herself preparing and devouring a great white shark—a species that is protected in China—was penalised in February. Reports state that she was fined 125,000 yuan, or $18,600.
March
When a Russian tourist incited outrage in March by undressing to take a semi-naked photo at a sacred site in Bali, spring had barely begun in the northern hemisphere.
At his spontaneous photo shoot at Mount Agung, a volcano considered sacred to the god Shiva, the man, Yuri Chilikin, went nude from the waist down. After apologising, Yuri asked Ni Luh Djelantik, a wealthy Balinese woman who is a master fixer for troubled tourists, to mediate between him and the locals.
At some point, he participated in a ritual at a temple and prayed with Hindu priests. That did not, however, prevent his deportation.
In Bali, Chilikin wasn’t the only visitor acting inappropriately. Due to the high number of motorbike accidents, authorities banned tourists from renting motorbikes in the same month.
Authorities in Japan, meanwhile, declared that anyone caught taking “indecent” pictures at the popular animation studio Studio Ghibli’s theme park, Ghibli Park, would face harsh consequences.
The Straits Times newspaper in Singapore stated that in February, images of men in Ghibli Park “pretending to sexually assault young female characters” were shared on social media.
Aichi Prefecture Governor Hideaki Ōmura stated, “I would much prefer them not to come at all for those who come to the park to do this kind of thing.”
Additionally, as spring arrived in Hong Kong, locals saw a rise in “begpackers,” who would either sell goods or just approach people to ask for money so they could continue travelling. Ashley James, a resident, stated to CNN that living in Hong Kong is very expensive. Even the locals are unable to afford to live here. Why are you requesting that we purchase beads while in one of the most affluent locations on Earth? Around the world, travel is considered a luxury, so it is ludicrous and entitled for someone to claim, “Pay for my travel.”
When Florence returned to Italy, she was behind the wheel of a different American traveller. The rental car, a bright red Ferrari, belonged to a 43-year-old man who was fined 470 euros ($506) for driving into the pedestrianised Piazza della Signoria, the main square of the Renaissance palace.
Bad tourist behaviour is nothing new in Venice, however in March one visitor endangered himself by diving into a canal from the top of a three-story building. Once the offender was located, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted, “They do these stupid things for the likes,” threatening to give him “a certificate of stupidity and a lot of kicks.”
However, there was one positive development at the beginning of Europe’s season. A couple was sentenced to prison in March for their 2021 theft of $1.7 million worth of wine from a Spanish restaurant with a Michelin star. According to the court, the two left the Atrio restaurant in Caceres, western Spain, with 45 bottles of wine, including an 1805 bottle of Chateau d’Yquem that was priced at 350,000 euros ($371,000), wrapped in hotel towels and concealed in travel bags. A 14-course dinner and a guided tour of the wine cellar followed the couple’s three previous visits to the eatery while they plotted the heist. Then, they broke into the nearby hotel during the night.
Sometimes a whole nation behaves badly instead of just one person. Amsterdam began its “Stay Away” campaign in March with the intention of discouraging young British men from travelling to the capital to wreak havoc at bachelor parties, or “stag dos.” The campaign used targeted advertisements to appear when someone searched for phrases like “cheap hotel Amsterdam” or “pub crawl Amsterdam,” alerting would-be wild tourists to the possibility of getting caught, fined, or hospitalized if their drug binge goes wrong.
April
While they might not have been acting in social media’s interest, a group of “young adult males” in the UK’s Lake District ran afoul of the law. The region is well-known for its breathtaking views, but this group felt that the beauty of the surroundings wasn’t enough and they chose to enhance the experience with magic mushrooms. Passengers alerted volunteer rescuers to their presence, and they discovered the group “who appeared to be disoriented.”
May
And when summertime in Europe arrived, an Austrian village became so annoyed by tourists taking selfies that it built a fence to obscure the view. The fence was installed by Hallstatt, which is credited with inspiring the Disney film “Frozen,” after the village of about 800 people saw up to 10,000 visitors every day.
Bad behaviour can occasionally have tragic results, and not only for the visitors. A newborn bison calf was “disturbed” on May 20 by a visitor to Yellowstone National Park after it got separated from its mother and the rest of the herd while crossing a river. Despite park regulations dictating that visitors must maintain a minimum distance of 25 yards from the animals, the man lifted the calf from the river. After the exchange, the calf approached park visitors before being rejected by the herd. Rangers put it to sleep.
When YouTuber Trevor Daniel Jacob purposefully crashed his plane in California while filming a video to advertise a wallet, horrifying consequences were just about avoided. Pilot and skydiver Jacob recorded himself jumping out of a plane and landing on a parachute. After the video went viral for all the wrong reasons, he entered a guilty plea.
But bad behaviour isn’t always exhibited by people. In the UK’s Lake District, a “exhausted” and possibly injured dog had to be rescued after he would not go on his walk. In less than four hours, a mountain rescue team carried him down from the famous Scafell Pike on a stretcher. He may be a large dog at 77 pounds, but a group of experts on a stretcher would have no chance.
Even though the dog weighed 33 kg, it was a pleasure to carry such a small casualty. The rescue team released a statement saying that the victim “remained cool, calm, and positively regal throughout.”
June
A visitor to Rome’s Colosseum was observed in June engraving “Ivan + Hayley 23” into the 2,000-year-old monument. He smiled while being filmed, but when the police found him a day later, he was not as happy. According to a spokesman for the carabinieri police force, the British resident immediately begged the Italian authorities for forgiveness, claiming he had no idea how old the monument was. It is currently believed that he is awaiting trial in 2024.
July
As the summer wore on, tourists in Italy kept causing harm to its fragile cultural heritage. Two teenagers were caught in July vandalising the Colosseum on separate days: a German youth and a girl from Switzerland. They were both detected entering their names into the system.
August
Many of us get the urge to strip off as the temperature rises, which is why visitors to sunflower fields in the UK are asked to refrain from posing in the shade of the foliage while nude.
The proprietors of Stoke Fruit Farm, located on Hayling Island off the south coast of England, begged visitors to wear clothing on social media after observing an increase in the number of people undressing to take nude photos among the flowers. CNN was informed by the owner, Sam Wilson, that this is a problem specific to 2023.
“People have always taken explicit photos here, but this is the first year it’s been an issue, so we put up signs,” he said, adding that the warning was sent out when guests’ children “saw what was going on.”
Two German visitors were detained in Italy in the meantime for vandalising Florence’s Vasari Corridor, which connects the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi Galleries. The two were travelling to Florence to watch a football match with a group of eleven people. Predictably, the graffiti belonged to their team, sadly. The damage it caused exceeded $10,000.
In an attempt to get the ideal photo at Viggiù, close to Lake Como, a group of German tourists knocked over a priceless statue in the country’s north.
A tourist was also seen wading into the Trevi Fountain to refill her water bottle as the temperature in Rome skyrocketed. The woman was seen on camera being taken into custody by the authorities, though it was unclear what became of her. Entering the well-known fountain may result in fines.
When it comes to European capitals, Paris also suffered setbacks during the summer. The Paris prosecutor’s office told CNN that two inebriated American tourists were discovered in the Eiffel Tower early one morning in August after spending the night there “allegedly trapped there due to their excessive alcohol consumption.”
September
While we’re quick to criticise other travellers on aeroplanes for inappropriate behaviour, occasionally it’s the airlines that are acting inappropriately. On a flight from Las Vegas to Montreal in September, Air Canada employees made paying customers sit in seats that were still covered in vomit from an earlier flight.
“To cover up the odour, they sprayed perfume and put coffee grinds in the seat pouch. One passenger posted on social media, “The flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do when the clearly upset passengers tried to explain to her that the seat and seatbelt were wet and there was still visible vomit residue in their area.”
After the incident became widely public, the airline issued an apology.
October
A visitor to the Vatican Museums in 2022 wrecked ancient sculptures, causing chaos. In 2023, an American tourist caused damage to two Roman sculptures dating back to the second century CE in Israel, resulting in the spread of this horrifying trend. The man knocked over the statues because he thought they were “idolatrous,” according to police, but his lawyer disputed this, claiming the man was just experiencing “Jerusalem Syndrome,” a condition in which visitors become so engrossed in history that they lose touch with reality.
November
This winter, the misbehaviour has persisted. An American visitor to the Philippines was given a lifetime ban in November after it was alleged that he had written obscenities on his immigration form. Authorities claim that he “inputted profane words in his entry, did not include his full name, and keyed in a made-up address in the Philippines.”
The Philippine Bureau of Immigration claims that because of the 34-year-old’s “disrespectful” behaviour, he was denied entry and placed on a permanent no entry list. When reminded to complete an online travel form, he allegedly “showed disdain” towards one immigration officer, according to the authorities, and threw his passport and cell phone at another.
The traveller told CNN that he didn’t agree with the nation’s narrative. He is the 44th foreign national to be turned away from the country this year due to “disrespectful” behaviour.
