Things are going completely wrong at the ‘Frozen village’ in Austria
How flattered will you feel as a resident when your picturesque hometown goes viral as the ‘most Instagram-worthy place’ in the world. You will also be proud as a mayor. Until your mother suddenly wakes up to a group of tourists standing in her bedroom early in the morning. What's going on in the Austrian Hallstatt? They are going CRAZY from the tourists after the village was compared on social media to ’Frozen in real life‘. And yes, that's somewhat true, as Hallstatt is said to have inspired the fictional city of Arendelle from the Disney movie. For the record: the village has about 900 residents, but is now being overrun by about 10,000 (!) tourists per day who act as if it’s a theme park. Busloads of tourists, selfie sticks, drones flying around: it’s a drama. Of course, the residents fear that their beautiful village will be lost. It’s nice to keep looking at those beautiful pictures from Hallstatt, but especially not to get caught up in the hype. I also read a quote on a wall in Lisbon that I will never forget: ’Mass tourism is human pollution‘. And that’s just how it is.
