Beautiful scenery like “Frozen” is popular!Residents of Hallstatt, Austria are fed up with ‘too many’ tourists

• Hallstatt, Austria, which is rumored to have been the inspiration for the Disney movie Frozen, has become extremely popular with tourists in recent years.
• Locals say there are too many tourists, most of whom come here just to take selfies.
• Local residents have been protesting against overtourism by blocking major roads leading into the city.

Residents of a picturesque Austrian town rumored to have been the inspiration for Disney’s Frozen movie are fed up with the hordes of tourists who flock to the area to take selfies.

Hallstatt, a small town in the Austrian foothills that has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is characterized by beautiful old houses that line the shores of an Alpine lake with snowy peaks in the background. It has a population of around 800 people, but during peak season, up to 10,000 tourists a day pass through its picturesque streets.

Hallstatt residents are protesting against overtourism. This is a problem faced by many historic cities in Europe. In August, residents staged a protest by blocking the main road leading into the city, the BBC reported.

Residents protested with placards calling for “limitation of tourists and improvement of the living environment” and “drastic restrictions on mass tourism.” Others were seen holding placards that read “World culture is coming to an end” and “Yes to tourism, no to mass tourism.”

Hallstatt has become very popular with tourists in recent years. It also appeared in a 2006 Korean movie, which attracted the attention of many people in Asia, according to the BBC. An exact replica of Hallstatt was even built in China. Unveiled in 2012, its construction cost is estimated at $940 million.

Hallstatt is rumored to be connected to the Disney movie “Frozen,” which was released in 2013, and its attention has further increased. However, while fans have speculated that Hallstatt was the inspiration for the fictional kingdom of Arendelle in the film – although it does look very similar – Frozen’s art director said that in Austria He says he got his inspiration from traveling to Norway and Canada.

Michelle Knoll, executive director of the Hallstatt Tourism Board, previously told The New York Times that many tourists appeared to be there just to take selfies.

“Many tourists only stay for a short time and come just to take pictures. There are simply too many tourists.”

The town has already taken several measures to limit the number of tourists, including regulating the number of tour buses allowed per day. In May, residents even erected large wooden fences at popular photo spots to stop tourists from flocking to take selfies. However, the fence sparked outrage on social media and has since been removed, the BBC reported.

Local residents protesting overtourism say more needs to be done to control the quantity and quality of tourists. “Hallstatt no longer feeds on tourism. It’s being crushed by overcrowding,” a local resident in his 60s told NBC News.