Fees and access rules First Swiss mountain regions crack down on mass tourism
Too many people, too little space. Tourists are gathering in dozens of places in Switzerland. The first regions are responding with fees, rangers and access rules.
03.08.2025, 12:13
04.08.2025, 13:04
SDA
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- Swiss tourist regions such as Iseltwald and Lauterbrunnen are struggling with overtourism in some areas, leading to traffic jams, overcrowded transportation and social displacement.
- So far, there is no national strategy, but some places are already taking measures such as access restrictions, rangers or entrance fees.
- Experts and Switzerland Tourism recommend a better distribution of visitors as well as qualitative growth through longer stays and local value creation.
Access restrictions, entrance fees or the deployment of rangers: some tourist destinations in Switzerland are taking measures to mitigate the negative consequences of overtourism. In the coming years, a nationwide strategy could also become an issue.
The corresponding images regularly circulate on social media: visitors from Asia crowd onto the jetty in Iseltwald in the Bernese Oberland to get the perfect selfie. Traffic jams in the village center of Lauterbrunnen, also in the Bernese Oberland.
The photos show: Switzerland is not spared from overtourism either - even if the problem is limited in this country. Like many other countries, Switzerland is also affected in certain areas, confirms Adrian Müller, tourism researcher at the University of Bern. However, it is not a permanent, general problem in Switzerland.
Müller does qualify, however, that overtourism is a matter of subjective perception. If everyday life is restricted, a place can be perceived as overcrowded even if the overall occupancy rate is limited.
Overcrowded buses and rising rents
Overtourism has very specific consequences. Research distinguishes between direct effects such as traffic jams, endless queues and overcrowded buses or trains on the one hand and more diffuse effects such as noise or waste on the other.
"The indirect consequences can also be of a social and economic nature," Müller notes: rising rents, the increase in short-term rentals, the disappearance of local infrastructure in favor of tourist venues. "These dynamics can damage the social mix in certain neighborhoods," he says.
Inconsistent picture
A nationwide strategy to combat overtourism does not yet exist in Switzerland. However, the challenge has also been recognized at federal level, says Müller. The problem will be prioritized in the next revision of the national tourism strategy.
Some regions have already taken the initiative and introduced local measures: Access restrictions, entrance fees, communication campaigns or even rangers. "Relying on communication or awareness-raising alone will not be enough in the long term," says expert Müller.
Spatial and temporal distribution
Switzerland Tourism is focusing on better distributing visitor flows in terms of time and space. The organization is therefore also promoting destinations off the beaten track. Accordingly, with the "In love with beautiful places" campaign, the organization deliberately focuses on less frequented places such as the town of Burgdorf, Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau or Auvernier in the canton of Neuchâtel.
Müller sees a possible solution in focusing on qualitative rather than quantitative growth. The aim should be to achieve greater added value per stay rather than increasing the number of visitors. According to the tourism researcher, this could be achieved through longer stays and increased consumption of regional products, for example.
