With its status as a UNESCO cultural heritage site, Easter Island in Chile has long been a favorite destination for tourists from all over the world.
Even so, like other famous tourist destinations, Easter Island is also threatened by damage due to over tourism problems.
One of the problems that Easter Island is facing and is expected to invite many tourists is the trend of "picking" photos.
The photo trend of "picking up" this Moai statue is a new thing among tourists.
Although at first glance it doesn't seem detrimental, archaeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg is worried that this photo trend will invite more tourists to come and be "eccentric".
Jo Anne Van Tilburg himself worked to educate tourists on Easter Island to be polite and responsible.
"Because photography spreads everywhere, people will take the same picture repeatedly. As soon as one person poses to clean Moai's nose, there will be thousands of other people doing it," said Van Tilburg.
"There is nothing creative or interesting or funny about it," he added.
It is known, the number of visitors to Easter Island itself has indeed experienced a drastic increase. In 1980, tourists who came to Rapa Nui National Park only amounted to 2,000-5,000 per year.
However, at present, around 100,000 tourists are coming per year. On the other hand, the population on Easter Island is only around 5,000.
Not to mention, in 2008, a Finnish tourist came to Paskah Island and stole part of the moai statue's ear.
Not surprisingly, many archaeologists are anxious if this latest trend makes a lot of impolite tourists come to visit.
Even so, Van Tilburg also added that tourists could do a little preparation to respect Easter Island more.
"Read and prepare. If you show that you are interested, then your tour guide will treat you seriously. Make sure your question deserves an answer," he explained.
"There are 1,000 statues and there are 5,000 people here," Van Tilburg added. "The statues are equally important."
