The highest mountain range system of Europe, the Alps, stretch over 1,200 kilometers, lining most of the Europe, running along Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland; the eight countries that have come to be called the Alpine countries. Most of these countries, especially Switzerland owes most of its tourism to the unmatched beauty of Alps. A restriction that has risen from a Swish village is something that was unheard of, a while back.
The Swiss Alps hold the commune of Bergün/Bravuogn near the famous tourist resort of St. Moritz. The village is admittedly one of the most beautiful in all of Europe, and like most other things, this beauty is destined to make way to social media in the form of photos. People’s travel accounts and pictures on social media are known to cause depression among people who are unable to visit, and the Swiss authorities are concerned enough to ban all tourists from taking photos of the place.
While you may find it funny, the Bergün village council has adopted this new law, and the mayor has also approved it. The breathtaking mountain peaks of Bergün will no longer appear on your social media news feeds as the authorities fear it may raise feelings of jealousy and depression among people. Stopping the tourists from breaking the law is a €5 fine so if you ever get caught capturing images of the place, be prepared to at least lose some money.
The Bergün tourism authority has issued a statement that reads, “It is scientifically proven that beautiful holiday photos on social media make the viewer unhappy because they cannot be there themselves.” The mayor of the town, Peter Nicolay added, “Bergün is beautiful, we don’t want to make people outside the community unhappy by sharing social media photos of our picturesque landscape, and we cordially invite you to visit Bergün to experience it for yourself. I am very pleased that the inhabitants of Bergün have the happiness of all people at heart. That makes me very proud.”
If you are beginning to think that this is some tourism marketing idea, you are not wrong at all and the village’s director of tourism Marc-Andrea Barandun has partially confirmed to it saying, “In the background, of course, the idea is that everyone is talking about Bergün. So it’s a combination of both – we made the law, and also there’s some marketing [aim] behind it.” He also said that the announced fine might actually never be imposed.
To prove the seriousness of the law, however, the authorities have removed the photos of the village from Facebook and Twitter accounts, and the intention is to delete it from the Bergün website as well. Whatever the case is, the publicity stunt has served its purpose and the entire world is going crazy over visiting the place. People who have already been there are posting photos of the area and here is what the Mayor of Bergün has to say about it.
It is kind of ironic that the same video was shot amidst the same town that is not meant to be picturized anymore but he also talks about a special permit for taking photos, along with the caution of sharing these online. All the while proving the theory that is it, in fact, is a publicity stunt.