November 01, 2023

Summer has slowly waved farewell and autumn has been boasting its colours to beautify the valley in gold before the shorter winter days and snow appear.
 
November is a time when many businesses try and take a month of rest. They seek some remaining warm weather a little further south to get recharged in readiness for winter visitors.
 
This summer has been full in the valley, with many more visitors than usual as people have begun to travel again after Covid put their plans on hold. This has caused quite an overload this year on the valley of Lauterbrunnen and the services offered by the local council, such as toilets and parking.
 
So what is it like to live in a village that has suddenly become an Instagram favourite? Here are some comments from local residents at a local meeting…..
 
“We feel like employees at an amusement park”
 
“We are almost desperate, we locals simply have no room left in Lauterbrunnen,”
 
At a local residents meeting, it was clearly said that Day-trippers are problematic for traffic because they come just to see the Staubbach waterfall and leave without even buying a coffee, “They come in a rental car, take photos of the Staubbach Falls and then leave again.” This leads to traffic chaos: “I have the feeling that I live next to a motorway, people drive into the valley and out again. It’s annoying”
 
Tourists walk into people's private garden areas to take photos and disrespectfully play football in the cemetery.
 
Visitors are so awed at the Staubbach falls as they enter the village, that they will unconsciously stand in the middle of the narrow road to take photos of the Falls and become a traffic hazard themselves and cause danger to drivers.
 
A quaint little rural village, that only has a narrow footpath on one side through the village, has  a lot of congestion when tourists are not mindful to look out for their own safety.
 
We welcome you to Lauterbrunnen, to enjoy the beauty of nature and the many other offerings here. Now you know what it can be like for residents to share their village with the holiday makers we all like to welcome.
 
Source: https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/tourismusflut-in-lauterbrunnen-wir-fuehlen-uns-wie-angestellte-in-einem-freizeitpark
 
Photo: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos