There’s something very wrong with this travel photo
Iceland is fast-becoming one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, with tourists converging on the Scandinavian country in droves in recent years.
And it’s easy to see why with images like the photo below:
A close-up view of Bruarfoss, a waterfall with water so blue it’d make the Caribbean jealous. #Iceland #fujifilmx_us #ttot pic.twitter.com/50ggaACYn1
— Mark Iandolo (@MarkIandolo) May 1, 2017
But there’s actually a huge problem with this photograph.
The image, which depicts the beautiful Brúarfoss Waterfall, fails to capture the damage to the environment caused by pushy tourists looking to get the perfect shot.
TheIceland Review writes, “After being largely forgotten for decades, Brúarfoss suddenly finds itself listed online as one of the country’s top ten waterfalls. TripAdvisor even has it marked out as the best natural attraction in Reykjavík – despite being 90 kilometres away from the city.
“One tourist website apparently tells visitors not to take any notice of private road signs banning unauthorised traffic, while another tells visitors to park in the summerhouses’ private car park.”
Hordes of tourists have carelessly forged their own paths to the waterfall, leaving previously untouched forests muddy and damaged, and locals furious.
Local Styrmir Sigurðsson elaborated on the problems to The Iceland Review, “For the first 2km, the tire tracks are in the sand, but then it gets worse, because they extend into the lava field and over the moss where the trail has widened.
“It happens all too often that damage is done in this way. Luckily, most people follow the law, but many, on the other hand, drive off the road.”
What’s your take? Do you think more should be done to cater for tourist numbers? Or should the tourists be expected to be more careful?