Nepal has imposed a 'No TikTok' rule in many of its heritage sites - no thanks to wannabe celebrities filming obnoxious content at such sites.

The sites which now have such signs include the famous Boudhanath Stupa, and the Gadhimai Temple.

"We have banned TikTok-making in and around the sacred garden, where the main temples are located," Sanuraj Shakya, a spokersperson for the Lumbini Development Trust, which manages the Lumbini shrines, told Rest of the World magazine.

"Making TikTok by playing loud music creates a nuisance for pilgrims from all over the world who come to the birthplace of Gautama Buddha," the official was quoted adding.

At the Boudhanath Stupa, a UNESCO World Heritaga Site in Kathmandu, for example, wannabe or so-called influencers join the hundreds of devotees who stroll around, often in a clockwise direction, at the high place of Buddhism.

Apart from placing surveillance cameras, the shrine's management committee also tasks a dozen security agents to carry out patrols to ensure that TikTokers abide by the rules.

For the record, the Chinese social media network TikTok is highly popular in Nepal, with about two-thirds of Nepalese aged above 18 using it regularly.

Nepal is not the first country to impose restrictions at content creators at its tourist destinations.

In 2018, the Jackson Hole Tourism Office in Wyoming, USA, asked visitors to stop geotagging the photos they post on social media, as the influx of visitors at the state's forests and lakes were putting a strain on the tourism board's financial resources, and threatened the mountainous terrain's biodiversity.


Source: AFP
Photo source: AFP