Lauterbrunnen – The picturesque Swiss mountain village of Lauterbrunnen groans with a sure type of vacationers: those that simply cease by for a mobile phone picture and depart. The municipality is now enthusiastic about whether or not, like Venice, it may be the primary in Switzerland to introduce an entrance charge. “We want an answer, there must be a steering measure,” mentioned mayor Karl Näpflin to the German Press Agency. The issues had acquired a fantastic response within the Swiss media.
According to Näpflin, the one people who find themselves a thorn locally’s facet are these whom he calls “Staubach mobile phone vacationers”. This refers to individuals who rush by means of the village of their automobile to the Staubach waterfall, take a selfie and drive off once more. Only guests who come by automobile and don’t stay in a single day ought to pay the charge. In excessive season that is 6,000 to eight,000 per day. “We don’t get any added worth from them, simply bother,” says Näpflin. Many ignored site visitors guidelines, clogged the streets and trespassed on personal property. Locals are already transferring away, common company not wish to come.
Lauterbrunnen lives virtually 100% from tourism and company are welcome, emphasizes the mayor. The neighborhood, which additionally consists of cities equivalent to Wengen and Mürren, may be very happy with the common company. There are 25,000 beds with solely 2,600 residents.
Näpflin needs to have it checked whether or not a charge may very well be charged by way of a mobile phone app and whether or not there’s a authorized foundation for this. Jürg Stettler, Professor of Tourism on the University of Lucerne, sees incentive taxes as a helpful instrument. However, he considers the 5 euros that Venice now expenses on some days to be too low, as he instructed the Swiss broadcaster SRF. The Jungfrau Railways, which takes greater than 1,000,000 day company a yr to the just about 3,500-meter-high Jungfraujoch, together with from Lauterbrunnen, has expanded the feeder railways in order that fewer company arrive by automobile, as a spokeswoman says.
Lauterbrunnen is positioned within the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage space. The space is a skier’s paradise in winter and a hiker’s paradise in summer time. “We are nonetheless one of many genuine mountain villages,” says Näpflin. “We wish to protect wildlife. I don’t wish to need to be instructed in 30 years: You ruined every part.”