Tourism taxes continue to be raised as a means of curbing tourism, and infrastructure is straining in some notable European cities.
Residents of Lauterbrunnen, a city in a valley in the Swiss Alps, are reportedly considering ways to curb visitors, including the introduction of a tourist tax. The village is known as one of Europe’s most beautiful small towns for its scenic setting, but more recently has become a popular Instagram destination with its alpine views, chalet-style homes and 72 unique waterfalls.
Lauterbrunnen is inundated with tourists, and residents regularly complain of crowded roads, trash and high rents. One local resident told Swiss public radio SRF last year that the fewer than 2,500 residents felt like “employees at a theme park.”
According to swissinfo.ch, local authorities are currently looking for ways to curb the number of tourists visiting the village, including a measure recently adopted by Venice, which charges day-trippers $5 per day. It also includes the possibility of imposing a fee of $10.
The problem with a tourist tax would be implementing it in an area the size of Lauterbrunnen. Venice employs staff to randomly check receipts within enforcement zones, but Lauterbrunnen does not necessarily have such resources.
Still, residents seem determined to find a way to curb tourism to their village, and they are not the only ones in Switzerland who want to do so. Even before the pandemic, residents of Iseltwald, a city featured in a popular South Korean TV series, instituted a tourist fee and charged tourists to take selfies on the iconic lakefront, according to swissinfo.com. Lucerne, another popular tourist destination, could be next.
