A group of tourists have been slammed by Namibian authorities for their 'sickening' behavior after a photograph emerged of them naked in a national park.
Unfortunately, stories of tourists disrespecting iconic landmarks is not uncommon. And now, three male travellers have allegedly joined this concerning trend.
The tourists are said to have stripped off for pictures and videos at the popular Big Daddy dune in the Namib desert.
The three men apparently did so after hiking up the over 1,000-foot-tall sandbank in the baking dessert.
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Big Daddy is one of the three largest dunes in Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft National Park, and is a very popular tourist spot.
Images and videos of the travellers quickly circuited on social media, allowing officials to gather wind.
They say the act was a public indecency violation of park regulations and national law.
As per the Namibian Sun, vice-chairperson of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Association, Kenneth Nependa, dubbed the incident as 'disgusting'.
He also added that he feels tourists think 'they can do whatever they want' when in Namibia - a sentiment we've heard from a lot of countries in recent months and years.
"I mean, we have tourists writing graffiti on the Bushman rock art in Spitzkoppe, tourists hanging on the trees in Deadvlei, and now naked tourists climbing Big Daddy – which is a very famous dune for families and other tourists and locals," said Nependa.
He added: "The ministry should really speak up and warn tourists that if this were to happen, the law will take its course."
As well as local officials seeing videos and snaps of the tourists online, disturbed visitors to the Namibian landmark also reported the naked tourists to officials.
Romeo Muyunda, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism told The Nambian: "It is a punishable act, according to the country’s laws. When this had been brought to our attention, we were shocked at the extent to which people could go.
"We condemn this type of action as it does not only go against our morals but also violates the country’s laws.”
The nude tourists have not been publicly identified and they are believed to have left the country before action could take place.
However, many on social media argued that the tourists didn't do anything wrong.
“Why are they in trouble? They bothered no one,” an X user said, while another argued that there is 'nothing wrong with sunbathing'.
What side of the fence are you on?
Topics: Social Media, Travel, World News
Callum Jones