A travel company that organises trips for influencers has since warned its clients against posting "insensitive" photos of their travels.
The CEO of influencer travel company Trending Travel, Keith Herman, has now urged his clients away from posting their holiday snaps from recent trips to Dubai
Trending Travel, who has worked with Saffron Barker, Ashley Roberts and Love Island's Jess and Dom offers a number of luxury holiday options both abroad and in the UK.
Speaking on the BBC's Newcast podcast, Keith explained: "At the moment, there are a couple still aboard but they're coming back to these shores now - a lot of them started out there way before the lockdown and pretty much all of them are coming home.
Advert
"Some of them to be fair did extend, which is understandable because they didn't want to come back to lockdown. There are still a couple who have yet to come home."He continued: "We did have people in Dubai... Here in Manchester we went from Tier 3 to 4 to lockdown..."We sort of made the decision to ask the influencers not to post, we thought it was pretty insensitive at that point.
"There were influencers out there that we'd sent out, but there was a very fine divided line of should they be posting, shouldn't they be posting, and we felt it was the wrong thing to do."A number of celebrities, including Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry, and TOWIE stars Amber Turner and James Lock, have shared snaps from Dubai - and a number of famous faces have flocked to other exotic destinations.
While some celebs have insisted they are abroad for work, and others departed weeks ago before strict new rules were implemented in the UK, fans are getting increasingly frustrated over the kind of example celebrities and influencers are setting for others.
Influencers themselves have since expressed their upset about the backlash, with Love Island's Laura Anderson facing huge criticism for saying her job was "really hard" while she was out abroad.
Advert
However, Keith says his sympathy for those under fire was "limited"."Each one of them had a good reason to go, whether we feel it was a good reason or not - none of them work for us," he said. "They are individuals, it's up to them whether they feel it should be there or not.
"Some of them who have caught it [the backlash] out there have brought it on themselves because they're posting.
"I don't think they should complain about it, if you go on social media... you're in the public eye, you have to be careful what you do."While lockdown restrictions have toughed in the UK, people are still allowed to travel out he country for work - which allows influences to head abroad.But just because they can travel, Keith argues influencers have to weigh up the costs whether it's worth the backlash they will receive.
"You have to remember a lot of what constitutes work for them is doing vlogs or posting Instagram shots advertising diet drinks."It's work but in a very loose sense. But it's enough to allow them to travel. The free hotels offered in return for publicity are doubtless a nice perk too.
Advert
"But it has gone down like a lead balloon with their fans, and you have to wonder if it's really worth it."
Dubai has been forced to tighten its Covid-19 restrictions, ordering hotels and restaurants to pause entertainment activities from today until further notice, as daily cases surge in the United Arab Emirates.
Featured Image Credit: UnsplashTopics: lockdown, Celebrity News, Coronavirus, Covid-19