Is this the summer of bad tourists?

This summer, headlines have been dominated by stories of tourists behaving poorly across the globe. Instances of vandalism at ancient sites and disrespect towards local cultures have been rampant. For instance, two inebriated Americans were found sleeping in a closed section of the Eiffel Tower. A French woman was apprehended for defacing Italy's iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa. A Canadian teenager vandalised a 1,200-year-old Japanese temple, and a Bristol-based man etched names into Rome's Colosseum, claiming ignorance of its historical significance. A German tourist disrupted a sacred ceremony in a Bali temple and stripped naked, after previously evading hotel bills.

This surge in tourist misbehaviour might seem like a new phenomenon, but it's not. History is replete with instances of travellers disrespecting foreign cultures and landmarks. Renowned explorers like Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes were notorious for their disregard for local customs. Even British nobles, during their Grand Tour of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, were known to belittle the people and places they visited.

What's different about this summer is the increased awareness and reporting of such incidents. This could potentially be a positive development. With each new report of disrespectful behaviour, public outrage intensifies, possibly leading to a moment of reckoning for these unruly tourists. In an era of heightened awareness about cultural sensitivity, this focus on entitled and boorish travellers seems like a natural progression. However, experts suggest that a combination of factors, including the quest for social media popularity, is driving this behaviour. Ironically, social media platforms are also being used to expose such disrespectful actions.