Latest news with #AmericanTourist
South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Bali urges tourists to assess fitness after spike in accidents and rescues
Bali authorities are urging tourists to ensure they are in good health and physically fit before travelling to the Indonesian holiday hot spot, following a spate of emergencies and rescues involving foreigners. Advertisement The Bali Sun reported on Sunday that local medical and rescue teams were advising tourists to seriously assess their physical condition before visiting. The article also cited recent natural disasters and unfavourable weather that have affected the popular island. The call comes amid a recent string of visitor mishaps, although not all cases have been health-related. Last month, an American tourist went missing overnight near Nusa Lembongan, southeast of Bali, while on a jet ski trip. He was eventually found adrift at sea by search and rescue personnel. Foreign tourists exploring a market in Ubud, Bali. Photo: EPA-EFE His jet ski had run out of fuel and he was later spotted by a local vessel, whose captain alerted authorities. The Bali Times reported that the evacuation faced challenges due to high waves, with an extensive operation involving police, health and naval units. Advertisement The Bali Sun also cited the case of an Australian national on July 6 who arrived on a Jetstar flight and suffered serious head and neck injuries after he fell and hit a wall at the airport's baggage collection area.
The Sun
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Taliban launches warped Afghan TOURISM campaign with vid of brutes posing beside ‘hostage' in ISIS-style mock execution
AFGHANISTAN has launched a bizarre video campaign to attract tourists - including a chilling hostage video. The slick professionally produced video starts with footage of a hooded man surrounded by armed men in an ISIS-style execution. 10 The video begins with what initially resembles a heinous execution video Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc 10 But when the bag is lifted, a man is smiling with his thumbs-up and says in an American accent 'welcome to Afrghanistan' Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc 10 An American 'tourist' appears in the video Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc 10 One even shows a man waving a gun while swimming Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc Five men holding gargantuan machine guns are seen eerily standing over three prisoners, with their heads covered with black bags. The leader is heard saying: "We have one message for America." The hood is then snatched off before he grins: 'Welcome to Afghanistan.' The weird promotional ad then focuses on gunmen in the back of pick-up trucks amid rugged scenery alongside a group of American tourists. read more news DOWN THE BARREL Driver pulls gun & shoots cops at point blank range after Taliban rant Pictures of armed Mujahideen warriors whose weapons are emblazoned with the words 'fake gun" are shown. And the group are seen diving into lakes, eating extravagant meals, standing under waterfalls and taking pictures with presumably confused children. One chilling clip shows an American holding a US Army-issue M4A1 carbine. This was the weapon predominantly used by American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It comes as no surprise that women have no role in the vile video. It currently remains unknown whether the video is connected to official Afghani institutions. Terrifying bodycam shows moment driver pulls gun & shoots cops at point-blank range after ranting about the Taliban Taliban mullahs desperate to soften their terrifying image are behind the tourist marketing video, shared across social media by in Arabic (@afghanarabc). The Taliban began their drive to make Afghanistan a tourist hotspot in spring 2024, with a tourism and hotel management school opened. Since then, social media channels have worked to promote the country's history as a way to lure in holidaymakers. Last month, Afghanistan's Deputy Minister of Tourism Qudratullah Jamal said: "The Afghan people are warm and welcoming and wish to host tourists from other countries and engage with them. "Tourism brings many benefits to a country. We have considered those benefits and aim for our nation to take full advantage of them. "We are optimistic this sector will evolve into a large economy, bringing significant benefits. It plays an important role in strengthening our national economy." Nearly a whopping 9,000 foreign tourists visited the country last year alone, while nearly 3,000 visited in the first three months of 2025, Jamal said. He refused to answer questions about the Taliban's treatment of women, however. 10 Taliban members paddle in a boat as they and Afghan families enjoy a visit to one of the lakes in Band-e Amir national park Credit: Getty 10 The video features American holidaymakers as they go on various activities Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc 10 It comes as no surprise that women weren't featured in the video Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc 10 The Taliban have made desperate efforts to attract tourists Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc Jamal added: "Those who respect our laws and traditions have already come and can continue to come." Since US forces withdrew in 2022, Afghanistan has been under the boot of the extremist Taliban regime. In the Taliban-controlled country, women are unable to leave the house without a man, speak in public or even look through a window while home. The Afghanistan government's strict "virtue and vice" laws force women to stop doing various things in public, like showing their face and bodies, singing or reading aloud, and looking at men they are not related to. Women in the country are also no longer able to visit national parks or beauty salons, play sports or even go solo travelling beyond the perimeter of their houses due to sickening morality laws. Some social media sites like Instagram and TikTok are beginning to show travel guides for Afghanistan, predominantly created by female travel influencers from countries like the UK, Australia and Hungary. The Foreign Office warns against all travel to the nation and the heightened risk of detention. 10 One man even records himself under a waterfall for the bizarre video Credit: Instagram / @afghanarabc
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Bloomberg
A Brief 700-Year History of Overtourism
In Rome, all roads seem to lead to the Trevi fountain. On my last visit, every other time I asked Google Maps to figure out a route to sites in the historic center of the city, the app coursed me through the tourist magnet commissioned by Pope Clement XII in the 18th century. If I'd never seen the Trevi before, I'd be grateful. But three round trips on one day past the baroque aquatic fantasy made me rococo loco. The standing room in front of the fountain was an intake pond for tourists streaming in from all over. I was drowning in the tussle and drenched in summery sweat — not all my own. Ick and eek. And this was just the start of Rome's high season. Foreign tourists like to complain there are too many of themselves. But the locals do too — and have horror stories to tell. A grainy CCTV video apparently shows a visitor to the crowded Uffizi Gallery in Florence awkwardly posing in front of an 18th portrait of a Medici heir only to buckle a bit and tear a hole in the painting with either his hand or elbow. Last summer, the mayor of Rome declared that 'there can certainly be no space for hooligans and idiots' after a visitor allegedly used a key to carve his name into a wall of the Colosseum. The previous year, a visitor from Bristol had done the same and pleaded ignorance of the monument's antiquity. A month ago, there were news accounts of an American tourist who impaled himself on a metal fence while trying to take a selfie at the 1,953-year-old ruin. The veracity of those reports, however, has been questioned. For many Italians, however, it was the perfect fable of comeuppance: Foolish tourist gets punished by his own foolishness.
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
American tourist explains why the heat feels so much more intense in the UK than the U.S.
An American tourist visiting the UK has admitted that British weather 'feels different' and the heat is more severe. Content creator Kalani Ghost Hunter, from Tennessee, has spent months travelling around the UK in a bid to immerse himself in the culture - from sampling afternoon teas to attempting to find the best chippy (a fish-and-chip shop). The UK is currently experiencing a heatwave, with the nation this week set to reach temperatures of 86°F (30°C). Americans have been known to poke fun at Brits who complain about the weather with some calling them 'dramatic' and claiming they wouldn't 'survive in the U.S.' - where the temperatures are generally much hotter. Kalani admitted that although he had 'doubted' Brits at first, he now believes the heat in the UK 'feels different' - and he doesn't know how people 'survive' without air con. He told his TikTok page: 'I always thought British people were lying when they were saying how hot it gets here but for some reason, it feels like you're melting. 'It honestly feels like my b****cks are sweating out of my pants. Every time I walk somewhere I have sweaty balls. 'I know it gets hotter at home and the humidity is just as bad at home but for some reason walking in these streets and walking into my hotel room it feels like I'm in a f***ing sauna.' Kalani - who has 3.2 million followers on TikTok - said he simply does not know how Brits cope in the blistering temperatures without having air con their homes or at work - as is commonly in the U.S. He added: 'I know you don't need it all year around but let me tell you at home, I get that nice relief from going into some cold air. 'Here, it's just misery everywhere and you wonder why Brits complain about the weather so much, it's because it can be f***ing miserable.' Throughout his time in the UK, Kalani has found that it's easy to strike up a conversation with almost any Brit, simply by mentioning the weather. He gave some advice to tourists, adding: 'Honestly, if you want the best small talk with a Brit, just look around and start talking about the weather. It's the easiest way to start a conversation with someone here - it's a British pastime. 'I never knew why until I came over here and experienced how s*** this weather can actually be.' Kalani's clip racked up 1.7 million views on TikTok in less than a day with thousands of comments from Brits who felt validated. One wrote: 'Wait till you try and sleep with no ac on Thursday night when it hits 28.' Vindication: Kalani's clip led to thousands of comments from Brits who felt validated A third said: 'When we say "It's a different kind of heat", we mean it!'
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
I'm an American visiting the UK - the heat DOES feel different here and I don't know how Brits survive
An American tourist visiting the UK has admitted that British weather 'feels different' and the heat is more severe. Content creator Kalani Ghost Hunter, real name Kalani Smith, from Tennessee, has spent months travelling around the UK in a bid to immerse himself in the culture - from sampling afternoon teas to attempting to find the best chippy. The UK is currently experiencing a heatwave, with the nation this week set to reach scorching temperatures of 30 degrees. Americans have been known to poke fun at Brits who complain about the weather with some calling them 'dramatic' and claiming they wouldn't 'survive in the US' - where the temperatures are generally much hotter. Kalani admitted that though he had 'doubted' Brits at first, he now believes that the heat in the UK 'feels different' - and he doesn't know how people 'survive' without aircon. He told his TikTok page: 'I always thought British people were lying when they were saying how hot it gets here but for some reason, it feels like you're melting. 'It honestly feels like my b******s are sweating out of my pants every time I walk somewhere I have sweaty b***s. 'I know it gets hotter at home and the humidity is just as bad at home but for some reason walking in these streets and walking into my hotel room it feels like I'm in a f***ing sauna.' Kalani - who has 3.2 million followers on TikTok - said he simply does not know how Britons cope in the blistering temperatures without having air con their homes or at work - as is commonly seen in the United States. He added: 'I know you don't need it all year around but let me tell you at home, I get that nice relief from going into some cold air. 'Here, it's just misery everywhere and you wonder why Brits complain about the weather so much, it's because it can be f***ing miserable.' Throughout his time in the UK, Kalani has found that it's easy to strike up a conversation with almost any Brit, simply by mentioning the weather. He gave some advice to tourists, adding: 'Honestly, if you want the best small talk with a Brit, just look around and start talking about the weather. It's the easiest way to start a conversation with someone here - it's a British pastime. 'I never knew why until I came over here and experienced how s*** this weather can actually be.' Kalani's clip racked up 1.7 million views on TikTok in less than a day with thousands of comments from Brits who felt validated. One wrote: 'Wait till you try and sleep with no ac on Thursday night when it hits 28.' Kalani's clip racked up 1.7million views on TikTok in less than a day and thousands of comments from Brits who felt validated Another penned: 'Every American that comes over and experiences our weather has an "Ahhhh I get it now" moment.' A third said: 'When we say "It's a different kind of heat", we mean it!' A fourth commented: 'Well - for someone from the Philippines, I cannot handle summer in the UK. I have been here since 2009.' In another video, Kalani visited a local supermarket and even put his head in the fridges to cool down. He also revealed the three culture shocks he experienced when he moved to the UK. One thing that surprised him was the different portion sizes, admitting when he first ordered a large drink in the UK, he mistook it for a small. Kalani said, 'My mind was like "this is a small". If you're not familiar with drink sizes in the US, you can get a small state-sized cup for like a dollar 50. It's absolutely mind-blowing. Taken aback by UK standards, he added, 'When you travel out of the US, you realise that it's not the norm.' He also hadn't realised how different the tipping culture is. 'When you get your check at the end of dinner, and they don't ask for a tip, and they don't even give you an option to tip, it's really weird,' he said. 'For example, when you go out in the USA and you get dinner, let's say it's $60, it's customary to leave an extra 20 per cent on top of that for your service staff.' The content creator continued, 'But in the UK, it's not the norm to leave anything extra on top.' The internet personality said that he sometimes still tips waiters and waitresses, but he no longer 'feels the same pressure' to splash out the cash. The third adjustment Kalani had to learn to adapt to was the British humour, which he described as 'very dry, very dark and very passive aggressive'. However, once the social media star started to understand the British sarcasm, he admitted that it became 'really funny'. He said: 'They have so many different ways to insult you and so many different ways to say things that it's almost like translating another language at times.' The clip racked up almost 800,000 views and over one thousand comments - and some Britons ranted about having to tip staff when holidaying in the States Kalani described British comedy as 'elite' and said he was first exposed to it when reading comments on his posts. 'I have grown to call a lot of people "melts" and really enjoy it,' he added. The clip racked up almost 800,000 views after two days and over one thousand comments, with Britons ranting about having to tip staff when holidaying in the States. One wrote, 'The reason you're not expected to tip in the UK is because service staff actually get paid a wage and tips are extra, not like in the US where servers only survive on tips.' Another penned, 'Been to America and hated the fact that I had to tip for someone that literally just sat me down and took my order.'
