Small Town In Austria Determined To Prevent Visitors From Snapping Selfies

The mayor of Hallstatt recently informed the Austrian media that his town's inhabitants prefer silence.

 

More than a million people a year visit the superb Austrian hot spot, many of them just to take a selfie in front of the landmark that resembles Disney’s Frozen movie panorama. So numerous, in fact, that the local government has just installed a wood wall to keep tourists from snapping photographs.

Social media outrage led to its removal, but the idea behind the barrier was to keep people from congregating at a single popular selfie area and generating too much noise that would disturb locals.

Hallstatt's mayor, Alexander Scheutz, has shown interest in installing a flag there to alert visitors to the fact that they are actually in a residential neighbourhood.

UNESCO has designated Hallstatt as a World Heritage Site. In the picturesque Hallstätter See region, traditional homes contrast with the surrounding mountains and crystal blue lake.

Hallstatt was a famous destination for tourists from East and Southeast Asia before the COVID-19 outbreak. Now that tourism is booming again, locals are trying to rein in the crowds. The number of buses and private vehicles allowed into Hallstatt each day is now capped.

However, it consistently surpasses these limits, and Mayor Scheutz recently informed the Austrian press that the majority of his city's citizens are significantly disturbed by tourism.

Bans against taking selfies are gaining popularity in several European countries. It's not only Hallstatt that aims to discourage visitors from taking selfies.

Portofino, Italy, has instituted strict no-waiting zones. Its purpose is to prevent huge tour groups from congregating along the dock to snap pictures of the local brightly painted buildings. Even though there are only around 400 permanent inhabitants, the tiny community may be flooded with as many as 10,000 visitors at a time. Fines here can reach €270.

The waiting ban zones will be in effect until October 15th, when the holiday season officially ends.

 

Source: euronews.com