A travel blogger who weathered the pandemic in some of the world’s swankiest hotels has sparked outrage with a series of ‘tone deaf’ videos of her lavish adventures.
Barbora Ondrackova rang in the New Year by uploading a montage of the nine luxury locations she visited in 2020 – a year most spent confined to the four walls of their homes.
The clips show the Czech-German influencer – who has 536,000 followers on her ‘Fashion In My Soul’ Instagram account and a further 2.7million ‘likes’ on TikTok – swanning around five-star resorts in Dubai, Italy and the Maldives.
Popping champagne and dining out in high-end restaurants in cities like Paris, Copenhagen and Budapest, she is filmed without a face mask and appears blissfully unaware of the intensifying virus crisis sweeping Europe.
Ms Ondrackova, who lives in the Czech capital Prague, is also seen at airports, exclusive thermal spas and crowded concert venues without any form of personal protective equipment (PPE) or apparent regard for Covid safety measures.
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Privilege check: Czech-German travel blogger Barbora Ondrackova (pictured at the five-star Mandarin Oriental resort in Lake Como, northern Italy in a photo uploaded to Instagram on September 5, 2020) weathered the pandemic swanning across nine countries
‘My 2020 in a nutshell. Luckily we were able to visit nine countries and 30 cities this year even though there was COVID,’ she captioned the compilation.
The reflections have sparked some passionate responses, with viewers raging over the ‘insensitive’ display shared as healthcare professionals struggle to treat soaring case numbers around the world.
‘Did she live in another 2020?’ one person asked, while a second branded the videos ‘pretty tone deaf’.
‘This is so insulting to the nurses/doctors and everyone else trying to survive this pandemic. But no, you just keep on dancing,’ a third wrote under a clip of Ms Ondrackova partying at a packed nightclub.
A fourth said she couldn’t see ‘a single face mask’ in the footage while a fifth wrote: ‘It’s not hate but the lack of respect for human decency.’
One woman reminded the influencer of the devastating effects of the deadly respiratory disease, which has infected 86.7million and claimed the lives of 1.87million worldwide.
‘You should be home and be responsible. It’s just one year. Think about how many people are dead now, but didn’t have to be – just so you can party,’ she wrote.
What pandemic? Ms Ondrackova (pictured at the Royal Mirage hotel in Dubai on November 17, 2020) has been slammed for her ‘tone deaf’ wrap of a year most spent confined to their homes
The influencer is pictured at the Aqua Dome thermal resort in Längenfeld, Austria in a photo posted on March 25, 2020 – days after Covid lockdown was announced in dozens of countries. Ms Ondrackova wrote that she was ‘looking back to these days’ in the caption, suggesting it is a ‘throwback’ to an earlier trip
The Czech Republic has recorded 759,635 coronavirus infections and 12,257 deaths since the outbreak began there on March 1.
On December 31 the country of 10.6million reported 16,936 new cases, the highest single-day spike since the start of the pandemic, according to figures from the Czech Health Ministry.
Others noted the insensitivity of Ms Ondrackova’s jet-setting broadcasts at a time when countless families are separated by international border closures and stay at home orders.
‘We had very different years,’ one person wrote.
No Covid here: The travel blogger (pictured at the Intercontinental Resort in the Maldives on March 1, 2020) has been accused of insulting healthcare workers with her ‘insensitive’ display
Ms Ondrackova hit back at critics, assuring her audience she had only been ‘travelling for work’.
‘Should I sit at home with no income being unable to pay my bills?’ she asked, adding all events she had been filmed at had been permitted under Covid restrictions ‘at that time’.
After years of steady growth, the Czech economy has been battered by the pandemic which wiped out thousands of jobs and shuttered hundreds of businesses almost overnight while property prices hit an all-time high.
Unemployment rates are still steadily rising across the manufacturing, services, and arts and entertainment industries, according to November figures from the Czech Statistical Office.
But Ms Ondrackova’s business seems to be thriving if her annual wrap up is anything to go by.
‘Travelling for work’: Ms Ondrackova (pictured at the five-star Piccolo Sant’Andrea Luxury Suite Hotel on Italy’s Amalfi Coast) does not wear a face mask in her controversial 2020 wrap
One night in an ‘over-water villa’ at the Intercontinental where she stayed in the Maldives costs an eye-watering $1,442 (AUD).
The cheapest room at the Piccolo Sant’Andrea resort – Ms Ondrackova’s accommodation on Italy’s Amalfi Coast – will set you back $695 a night, while a standard room at the ‘One & Only Royal Mirage’ where she stayed during her stint in Dubai costs $528.
Despite the heated backlash, a handful of fans jumped to the influencer’s defence.
‘It’s ridiculous how many of you are moaning at her for travelling for her job may I add. I’m sure if she had a different job she’d work from home,’ one wrote.
‘Thank you for not putting your life on hold. And living, not just surviving,’ another added.