@am*3 wrote:
Totally different - Paris a huge city and Bali an island destination.
The French generally, have a reputation for being frosty towards tourists (those that don't speak French), not just Parisiennes.
One small railing collapsed in Paris, not the Eiffel Tower.
It's not just a little bridge and it's not just in Paris:
"The locks only appeared on the Pont des Arts in 2008, having already become a craze in Germany, Russia, China and particularly Italy.
Now the full 150m length of the footbridge is covered in the locks, and the custom has spread to other bridges around the capital.
Forty locks were recently removed from the Eiffel Tower."
Entire Article With Pics Here
And back home:
"Tourism can often peacefully coexist with Aboriginal land, but sometimes is a threat to Indigenous interests. Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) is one such example.
For Aboriginal people Uluru is a sacred site and should be off-limits for non-Indigenous visitors. Demands to close the only climb in respect to the rockโs significance have been made many times.
Kunmanara Uluru, one of the traditional owners, says: โThatโs a really important sacred thing that you are climbingโฆ You shouldnโt climb. Itโs not the real thing about this place. The real thing is listening to everything. And maybe that makes you a bit sad. But anyway thatโs what we have to say. We are obliged by Tjukurrpa [Dreaming, Dreamtime] to say. And all the tourists will brighten up and say, โOh I see. This is the right way. This is the thing thatโs right. This is the proper way: no climbingโ.โ
But Uluru is an icon of international value for Australiaโs tourism industry. When yet another call for its closure was made in early 2010 the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson and Environment Minister Peter Garett were compelled to call for Uluru to be kept open because โthe future for this internationally significant icon lies in visitor experiences that reflect its World Heritage valuesโ
Unfortunately some of Uluruโs annual 100,000 visitors donโt care much about its sacredness or the signs that discourage a climb and pee and defecate on it. Many more party or urinate up there. Visitors from all over the world take home parts of the rock, and many feel haunted for months after, subsequently sending back their stones to Australia.
http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/threats-to-aboriginal-land
Tourism's a nice little earner and we all like to be hospitable but tourists should be respectful to the countries they visit just as you'd expect guests to be respectful of your home and property.
