Over the last weekend, Hallstatt village citizens in Austria have protested against mass tourism in this area by blocking the main road to the town.
In spite of the fact that it has a population of just 800, it sees over 10,000 visitors within a day during the peak summer season.
According to a Sky News report, on Sunday, locals blocked the main access to the tunnel to the village as a sign of protest against tourism.
Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten said that the tunnel was closed for nearly 15 minutes.
Holding placards with slogans such as “Think of our children” and “Radical frontiers for mass tourism,” about 100 people gathered for the protest.
Residents of Hallstatt called for limits on the number of daily tourists and also for a ban on tour buses after 17:00 local time.
This is not the first time that residents have called for action when it comes to mass tourism in this zone. In May this year, the residents of Hallstatt built a wooden wall in order to block the views of the Alps and show their anger in this way.
The residents’ actions came as a protest against the noise pollution and traffic. However, following a backlash on social media, the wall built by residents was immediately removed.
The village’s popularity significantly increased following its appearance in a superhit South Korean romantic series in 2006.
Mass tourism has been among the most significant problems of several other cities in other countries as well.
Previously, residents in Venice have expressed their concerns related to mass tourism in this city, which is recording low numbers of the population. The main reason for this situation was considered mass tourism after the influx of visitors made it difficult for long-time residents to stay in this city.
According to the leader of the Venessia.com organization, the Venetian population will decrease by 50,000 by the end of this month, based on the data from the civil registry.
“We have been warning about this for years … we don’t want to give up, but no administration has managed to reverse the trend. Tourism is a double-edged sword because you take money, but at the same time, you expel all the activities and space for [the residents],” Secchi told the Guardian.
At the same time, Barcelona previously introduced measures to manage the large number of groups heading to this popular European destination.
