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Credit: DisneyThere is a quaint village in Austria that is currently dying from “Frozen Fever.”
One of 2019’s biggest travel trends was arguably going to visit the real-life locations of popular movies or TV shows. While most people were seen going to Spain and Croatia and all the other countries that featured the locations of Game of Thrones, people were also venturing out to the village that was the inspiration for The Kingdom of Arendelle. And those Frozen fans are arriving in droves.
It is a village in Austria called Hallstatt. It is a quaint little community of only 800 people that sits on the edge of a lake and at the base of the Salzkammergut mountains. But that small town is being smothered by tourists. According to The Guardian, Hallstatt deals with as many as 10,000 tourists A DAY! According to The Sun, that is six times the tourists per capita seen in Venice, Italy.
A community of 800 residents has to welcome as many as 10,000 tourists a day.
Granted, it’s not just Frozen that is to blame for the flood. Hallstatt has been named “the most instagrammable town in the world.” But be it Frozen fans or “aspiring influencers,” Hallstatt citizens report being overwhelmed by outsiders taking pictures from selfies to wedding portraits and flying drones.
Related: “We All Have to Grow Up”: Josh Gad’s Daughter Shaped Olaf’s Story in “Frozen 2”
Hallstatt’s mayor, Alexander Scheutz, wants to try to stem the tide of tourists. He was quoted saying, “Hallstatt is an important piece of cultural history, not a museum. We want to reduce numbers by at least a third but we have no way of actually stopping them.” Residents also commented about how the flood of tourists makes them feel as if they are living in a theme park.
Mayor Scheutz attempts to push the crowds back, preserve his town and restore peace to its citizens. But the recent meteoric success of Frozen 2 becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time does not bode well for the little town.
Embark on Your Own Frozen-Themed Adventure
You don’t have to be the 10,001st tourist in Hallstatt to have a Frozen adventure. Disney Cruise Lines and Adventures by Disney offer unforgettable trips to Norway that take you through the gorgeous fjords and get you as close as you can get to the world of Anna and Elsa. If a Norwegian Fjord cruise sounds like the vacation for you, the award-winning agents at Academy Travel are standing by to help you plan the most magical trip yet.
Related: Venture into the unknown and win an Adventures by Disney trip to Norway
What do you think? How could Mayor Scheutz keep tourists out? Do you think he should? Have you ever visited a real-life movie location? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Radio.com
