A Russian tourist poses for a photograph at the canyon. Photograph: Egill Bjarnason/AP

The closure of Icelandic canyon has something to deal with the Bieber effect

Who would’ve thought that a music video would bring a problem to the most famous Icelandic canyon in the world?

Fjaðrárgljúfur is the most famous Icelandic canyon in the world, and it was featured in one of Justin Bieber's music video, I’ll show you. The Icelandic environmental officials have had to close off Fjaðrárgljúfur to protect it from Bieber fans. However, these fans are not letting any fences or signs to keep them away.

Compared with eight years ago, last year 2.3 million tourists visited the North Atlantic island nation. There is a 20% annual rise in visitors and it has been out of proportion where soil forms slowly and erodes quickly.

The music video has been watched more than 440m times on YouTube where Bieber stomped and dangled his feet over a cliff and bathed in the freezing river. Elena Malteseva, a tourist from Russia said the music video was so amazing that she decided to visit the Fjaðrárgljúfur with her two friends.

The environment minister, Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, said that a rash behavior by one famous person and if the mass follows can dramatically impact an entire area. In Justin Bieber’s defense, at the time he visited the canyon there were no designated paths to show what was allowed and what was not, Guðbrandsson added.