Tourists criticized for posing naked in desert hotspot: ‘Very disgusting’

Travel

from Ben Cost

They stripped the landscape bare.

Another day, another case of tourists disrespecting a landmark.

This time, foreign tourists have angered Namibian authorities after posing naked on top of the legendary Big Daddy dune in the Namib desert, as seen in photos shared on social media.

“It’s very disgusting and really [creates] a bad image for Namibia,” Kenneth Nependa, vice president of the Federation of Namibian Tourist Associations, told the Namibian Sun, the BBC reported.

He added that these antics risk attracting tourists who think “anything goes” in the southern African nation.

Accompanying footage and video, shot by an unknown source, show the unnamed trio strolling in their birthday suits atop the more than 1,000-foot sand dune, which is reportedly popular with families.

Visitors did not appreciate the tourists who treated the scenic spot as a nude beach and called on the tourism officials to take action against the rude culprits.

Authorities have not yet publicly identified the sand strippers who are said to have left Namibia by the time authorities received the reports.

However, nudists could be banned from the country’s parks, according to tourism ministers, who added that the “extremely shocking” act was a public indecency and therefore punishable by local law.

In light of the indecent incident, officials are urging visitors to report offenders to the authorities so they can deal with them accordingly.

“We are appealing to this section of tourists to call upon their conscience to do the right thing,” said Romeo Muyunda, spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

However, many social media users disagree that the incident is problematic.

“Why are they in trouble? They weren’t bothering anyone,” said user X, according to the BBC, while another claimed “there’s nothing wrong with sunbathing.”

Big Daddy is one of the three largest dunes in the Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia and is a popular destination among tourists who want to get a scenic view from its ridge.