Flamingos are not native to Aruba, but that does not stop throngs of tourists from flocking to the island in the southern Caribbean Sea to pose with them every year.

The privately-owned Flamingo Beach is artificially populated with the pink birds, and the only ways to get in are by staying at the Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort or by picking up one of a couple of dozen day passes, which cost US$125 (HK$980) and sell out almost as quickly as Bad Bunny concert tickets.

Travel blogger Shalyn Vukich went to Aruba in November 2020 specifically to get that iconic flamingo shot – she even packed an ocean-blue swimsuit to match the famously turquoise waters.

Similarly, Suffolk, UK-based network marketing professional Connie Cardy packed matching pink outfits for her and her daughters ahead of their own influencer-inspired trip in October 2025.

“One flamingo jabbed me several times,” Vukich says, adding it felt “like a zoo, or maybe even worse”. Cardy called it crowded and chaotic.

Aruba is hardly the only place where tourists look for photo opportunities, turning the world’s grandest sites into social media backdrops.