Travel Company When In Iceland has regularly shared photographs on their Facebook page of tourists displaying reckless behaviour, Vísir reports. In some of the pictures, tourists can be seen precariously posing on cliff edges or climbing icebergs.
The picture below, for example, shows a tourist viewing northern lights while standing in the middle of a dark road.
A recent investigation into the death of a tourist revealed the man had been standing in the middle of a dark road looking for northern lights. He had been wearing dark clothing with no reflectors and had been facing away from the car which struck him.
Another picture shows two men in an ice bath on what appears to be an iceberg. According to Vísir, it was shared on When In Iceland’s Facebook page, though it appears to have since been removed.
One man commented on Vísir’s article, referring to the photo: “I work as a security guard around the icebergs in this lagoon. These people are in extreme danger[…]It’s unpredictable when icebergs will split, crumble, or flip over.”
After viewing When In Iceland’s Facebook page, Director General of the Icelandic Tourist Board Elías Gíslason, stated the board regularly reminds those who publish pictures of Iceland for advertising purposes to avoid encouraging reckless behaviour, whether in regards to nature, wildlife, or personal safety. Elías says, however, that it is difficult to track every reckless photo shared on the web. “It would be like, as they say, bailing out the ocean with a bucket.”
Here are more pictures from When In Iceland’s Facebook page.
