Five francs for a selfie Turnstile in Iseltwald BE brings in a quarter of a million for the municipality
The success of a Korean series on Netflix brings numerous Asian visitors to Iseltwald BE. A turnstile on the lake regulates access and proves to be effective.
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- The Netflix series "Crash Landing on You" makes Iseltwald on Lake Brienz a popular destination for Asian tourists.
- Since 2023, a turnstile with a fee has regulated access to the jetty, generating high revenues for the municipality.
- Despite the rush of visitors, there are occasional bottlenecks with parking spaces and public transport.
The Korean Netflix hit "Crash Landing on You" continues to attract many Asian tourists to Iseltwald BE. A scene in the series, in which the main characters play the piano on a jetty on Lake Brienz, has made this place a popular destination for fans. Since 2022, visitors have been flocking to this location to take photos.
To cope with the onslaught, the municipality of Iseltwald installed a turnstile in spring 2023, which allows access to the jetty for a fee of 5 francs.
A friendly, virtual voice greets visitors after they have scanned their credit card and opens the turnstile. This measure has proved successful, as the influx of tourists remains high.
244,000 francs generated by the turnstile
Gabriela Blatter, the municipal clerk of Iseltwald, tells the "Berner Zeitung" that visitor numbers have remained stable. Although exact figures are lacking, the income of around CHF 244,000 in 2024 shows that the turnstile was used almost 50,000 times. As several people can pass through with a single ticket, the actual number of visitors is probably higher.
The income is used to maintain the facility and clean the public toilets, which are also equipped with a turnstile.
The visitor management measures appear to be successful, as the tourists, who mainly come from South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan and the Philippines, respect the rules.
Gabriela Blatter is of the opinion that the large influx of tourists has not damaged the image of Iseltwald. However, she admits that there is a lack of parking spaces for cars during the high season, public transport is sometimes overloaded and there are sometimes a lot of visitors in the village at the same time.
