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There’s no denying that it can be somewhat of a balancing act for locations that are tourist hotspots. The money that comes in from tourist visits helps to fuel the local economy and keep taxes low. But the crowds can also serve as an annoyance and an impediment to a high quality of life. Deciding how to balance these two competing viewpoints can be a bit tricky. One town in Austria has apparently gotten fed up with the number of tourists that come to the villages to take selfies and has chosen to put up a fence blocking at least some of the views.

Halstatt, Austria – backdrop for the movie Frozen?

The town of Halstatt, Austria is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and many people believe that it is the inspiration for the mountain villages featured in the Disney movie Frozen.

a boat on the water with Hallstatt in the background

The picturesque Alpine village is a magnet for tourists, who come to see the beauty and also (of course) to take selfies. The town has a population of around 800, but according to CNN, may see over 10,000 tourists per day in peak travel season. The town is trying to redefine itself to focus on “quality tourism”, and one of the ways they have attempted to do that is to erect a fence at one of the best spots where people take selfies. The idea was that if people couldn’t “do it for the ‘Gram”, they might decide to go elsewhere.

According to the CNN article, the fence was only a pilot project and intended to be a temporary measure. Personally, I can’t see how this would be likely to work – I imagine people will either find a way around it or damage the fence over time. And that is of course setting aside the fact of whether it even makes sense in the first place.

The Bottom Line

The town of Halstatt, Austria, which many people believe is the inspiration for the Disney movie Frozen, has put up a fence intended to block people from taking selfies and other pictures. Their hope was that the fence would deter people from stopping by just to take selfies of their picturesque mountain village.

What do you think about this “selfie-blocking” fence? Do you think it will work to keep tourists out? Leave your thoughts in the comments below


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