Would you go on vacation where snaps are banned?
Is there anything people love more than going on a nice vacation? According to Internet Marketing Inc., millennials almost always post their travel experiences on social media. In fact, 97% will post while traveling (to Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, etc.), and 75% will post once a day. Nowadays, it seems if you didn’t post your holiday pictures on social media, you weren’t on vacation at all.
One mountain village in Switzerland is going against the social media trend of sharing: Bergün, or, Bravuogn, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. has just voted to ban tourists from taking photos of their beautiful landscapes.
Dreamy Graubünden: will scarcity create demand?
The Problem: Beautiful photos cause misery for other social media users because they aren’t present in the moment
This little village, with a population of about 500 people, just announced the new law banning tourist photography after a 46-to-2 vote by the local council. From now on, anyone caught sneaking a photo in the picturesque village will be issued a “symbolic” fine of 5 Swiss francs, or about $5.
The municipality claims it is “scientifically proven” that beautiful holiday snaps posted on social media make people unhappy when they can not be there in real life. They want to encourage tourists to enjoy the landscapes “with their own eyes”.
Money raised from the ban will be donated to the protection of the Alps in the Graubünden valley
“Bergün/Bravuogn 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,” said Mayor Peter Nicolay.
The Solution: Deploy videos and make sure the ban is clear
The news was announced May 29 on Facebook. Images were uploaded featuring, “No Photography” signages were installed at the scenic locations.
After that, the first video was posted, a ‘message’ to NASA from Mayor Nicolay, asking them to remove or blur satellite images from space of their village, giving them the coordinates of the municipality. The video reached over 30k views and 160 shares- amazing engagement considering the page has just over 1.5k followers.
Come June 1, the Mayor posts another video stating how famous they’d become in just two days thanks to their new law.
The village’s director of tourism Marc-Andrea Barandun stated on online publication The Local that the ban is partly a marketing ploy, and social media has mixed feelings about it. Comments ranged from positive to negative, with some stating they will never visit Bergün.
Is any publicity good publicity?
Mayor Nicolay thinks so: “Our village is now world-famous for its beauty. Millions of people around the world now know Bergün”.
Is Bergün on your To Do list?