'Don't come back': Why this tourist's photo has outraged a country
There have been calls for an Instagram influencer to be banned from Iceland after he shared a photo of his bogged SUV.
Alexander Tikhomirov, a director and photographer from Russia, posted a number of pictures of his Toyota Land Cruiser on rugged terrain in Iceland on Monday.
Mr Tikhomirov, who has more than 300,000 followers, was driving in Iceland when he tried to reach volcanic Lake Mývatn by driving off-road, The Independent reports.
The picture he shared shows his car bogged in dirt. The paper reported police were called to help get his car out and he was then slapped with a fine.
“Congratulate me, today I got a big fine and nearly ended our trip on the second day,” he wrote.
Off-road driving in Iceland is illegal as it damages soil and vegetation. It’s prohibited under the country’s Nature Conservation Act.
Anyone caught driving off-road faces a fine of up to $4500.
It’s not clear how much Mr Tikhomirov was fined but many people are angry at him for “destroying a beautiful part of the world for an Instagram photo”.
One woman, claiming to be an Icelandic tour guide, called the photo “incredibly disrespectful”.
“After you got fined by the police for banned off-road driving you pose by the rental car at the scene. Shame on you,” she wrote.
Another wrote the Russian man had “damaged a piece of land that will take years to recover”.
“We allowed you to travel through our country and see the best of the nature. Respect it please,” she wrote.
Another requested he “never come back to Iceland” while others called him an “idiot”, “degenerate” and “incapable of common sense, respect and likability”.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” another wrote.
Mr Tikhomirov isn’t the only Instagram user to cause controversy after posting a photo while on holiday.
In March, Portuguese couple Raquel and Miguel, who share travel pics, were accused of risking their lives for the sake of a photo.
The Auschwitz Museum also hit out at tourists earlier this year over photos being taken on train tracks which once led to a concentration camp.
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