Netflix: Swiss city has too many tourists after series – 06/12/2023 – Tourism

“Finally, my dream came true”, celebrates Isabel Palijon, looking at the small wooden pier that rises above turquoise water. In the background, the Swiss Alps add even more charm to the idyllic scene.

This small pier is the main reason why this 38-year-old Filipina tourist traveled the 11,000 kilometers to Iseltwald, a town of just 400 inhabitants on the shores of Lake Brienz, near Bern.

And she is not alone.

The “blame” lies with “Landing on Love”, a tremendously popular South Korean series on Netflix and, in particular, a romantic scene filmed in that same location.

Romantic

The series tells the unlikely story of a South Korean millionaire heiress who paraglides into the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas and meets a handsome gentleman officer in the service of the totalitarian regime in the North.

Numerous scenes take place in Switzerland. In the one filmed in Iseltwald, the hero of the series plays the piano, and the melody resounds over the lake, while the protagonist arrives by ferry from Interlaken.

“I wish someone would do that for me someday,” says Jiah Hni Gwee, a 35-year-old Malaysian, casting a somewhat envious eye over the site.

“It would be amazing and romantic,” she adds, one of dozens of tourists who visited the site on a sunny day last week.

The series has exploded in popularity across much of Asia during the long periods of Covid-19 lockdown.

Outside its home country, it is the second most popular Korean production among foreign viewers in 2021, after “Round 6”.

“A bit too much”

But for Iseltwald this became a problem.

“The numbers skyrocketed”, says Titia Weiland, who is responsible for the town’s tourist office.

Although it is difficult to calculate the number of fans of the series in relation to the total number of tourists, Weiland estimates that “there are a thousand visitors for every local person who lives here”.

“Almost everyone in Iseltwald is happy to have a lot of tourists”, but “it’s a bit too much”, he adds.

Last summer, 20 buses began to arrive a day, which obstructed traffic and sometimes blocked access to the city.

And residents complain that fans of the series are content to take a photo on the pier before leaving, causing chaos but leaving little money.

“When you have hundreds, or thousands, of people who come to the pier to take a picture, and less than 10% come here to consume something, it’s a problem”, explains Sonja Hornung, manager of the Strand hotel, which is opposite the local.

To deal with the situation, the municipal government announced access restrictions last month and installed a turnstile on the pier. Now, to pass, it is necessary to pay the “selfie price”, of five Swiss francs (US$ 5.50, or R$ 26.8, at the current exchange rate of R$ 4.88).

“Paradise on Earth”

For Sonja Hornung, whose restaurant offers customers a token to go through the turnstile, the new measures make a difference.

“Last year was terrible. But it has improved a lot”, he opines.

Some tourists do not hide their surprise at the barrier to access and the price.

“Ah, five francs!” exclaims Florita Lichtensteiger, a 64-year-old Filipina living in Switzerland. Although reluctant, he ended up paying so that the rest of his family could pass, but not for her.

“All my guests want to see this place”, she agrees, having had to go there at least a dozen times.

Other tourists are content with a photo from the shore.

“It’s not worth it,” says Nayeon Park, a 21-year-old Korean.

For Auntie Weiland, there is no alternative, even if it is just to pay for the maintenance of the pier and ensure the safety of those who walk along the fragile wooden walkway that, before the series, was frequented by only a few people a day.

“A lot of people understand that something needed to be done,” Weiland argues.

Iseltwald “is like heaven on Earth. We want to try to preserve it,” he added.