(TAN): A tiny Austrian village has joined the list of destinations inundated by overtourism because it was supposed to have inspired the fictional town of Arendelle in the Disney film ‘Frozen’, reports said.
Hallstatt, a village in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, has witnessed a steep growth in tourists in recent years, as per reports. The lakeside village, with a population of just 780, reportedly received up to 10,000 daily visitors, primarily from Asia, in 2019 in comparison to 100 a day in 2009.
Hallstatt’s mayor, Alexander Scheutz, reportedly urged tourists to stay away from the alpine village.
“Hallstatt is an important piece of cultural history, not a museum. We want to reduce numbers by at least a third but we have no way of actually stopping them,” the mayor was quoted by People as saying.
[ALSO READ: Australia’s bushfires destroy Kangaroo Island luxury resort]
According to reports, the first flood of visitors came in 2006 after the village featured in the South Korean show ‘Spring Watch’. Then in 2011, a Chinese tycoon reportedly spent around USD 920 million to build a replica of Hallstatt in China’s southern Guangdong province. However, the problem grew manifolds after Hallstatt was marketed across east Asia as one of Europe’s best tourist destinations and “the most Instagrammabe town in the world”, reports said.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, once a peaceful and picturesque village, is now thronged by tourists taking selfies, flying drones and littering, reports said.
“My mum woke up one day and found some Chinese tourists in her bedroom,” a café owner was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying.
While locals have benefited from the tourist invasion in terms of economy and are able to fund local facilities such as schools and a concert hall, overtourism has caused incessant problems, reports said.
“It’s a catastrophe. Many visitors seriously think this is a theme park,” local hotel owner, Verena Lobisser, was quoted by Independent as saying.
Scheutz had temporarily shut roads leading to the town and issued a statement for holidaymakers to not visit after a fire destroyed part of Hallstatt’s 16th century waterfront last November, as per reports. Although the tactic reportedly failed in curbing the tourist influx.
According to reports, the number of tourist buses, currently 20,000 per year, could be cut by a third to control visitor numbers.
I am an American who lived in Austria from the late 90’s until 2004. Before we moved, we went through ‘Austria’ training’. Yes! Our bosses taught us this. From learning a little German to how to speak and act. I think all tourists need to learn this. My family would visit Hallstatt at least 3 times a year. It was a perfect get away, for relaxing, meditation and gratitude. Very quiet and not too many visitors. Somehow, all the tourists knew to speak and move softly, as if the entire area was hallowed ground. It was my absolute favorite place on earth. My family went back to Austria on vacation last July. We were appalled and disgusted by the multitude of Asians. They were rude and loud, some actually yelling at a high pitch. I felt so sorry for the residents. We will never go back. I apologize to all the locals, I still appreciate you, but I miss the old Hallstatt.
Not all asian..in asian community. Chinese from china mainland is the loudest. Even they went to malaysia my country,… The local malaysian chinese just hated them as they are just sooo freakingly loud.