The Bali Provincial Tourism Office is investigating the truth of a video of a Russian woman, named Alesya Kafelnikov, who caused a stir after posing naked on the back of an elephant.
“We first checked whether the video was truly taken in Bali. Then we need to confirm whether the video is new or old,” said the Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, Putu Astawa.
Putu said he regretted this incident because what Alesya Kafelnikov did was not in line with Bali’s tourism culture.
“Bali’s tourism is culture-based tourism which is inspired by the tri hita karana philosophy (spiritual concepts, local wisdom, and the life philosophy of the Balinese Hindu community) which always upholds local wisdom. So, if there is a video like that, it’s certainly not in line with the norms that exist carried from Balinese cultural tourism,” said Putu.
According to Putu, Alesya Kafelnikov’s actions could build a bad image for Bali’s tourism. A number of netizens also commented on Alesya Kafelnikov’s elephant riding escapade, noting that it was cruel to treat the animal this way.
Alesya is seen sitting on an elephant’s back without any clothes at all. This 3-second video was taken in Bali and was uploaded to her Instagram account @kafelnikova_a on 13th February.
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