Selfie tourism has serious negative consequences for nature. At least that's what Sepp Wurm, Social Media Manager at the Berchtesgadener Land Tourist Association thinks. In an interview with the “Augsburger Allgemeine” newspaper, he describes that many visitors who visit Berchtesgadener Land just for beautiful pictures for their social media channels actually have no interest in the landscape.
Nature degenerates into an insignificant backdrop
"The influencers are not concerned with the region, but primarily with themselves," said Wurm. The great nature only degenerates into a backdrop "that they are not really interested in." This would also mean that they would no longer respect nature, which is reflected in their behavior.
“The many photo hunters kick our vegetation to pieces, leave their garbage in many places and fly their drones over protected areas. Some even light campfires or camp there. All of this is strictly forbidden, ”he complains about the inconsiderate tourists.
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The situation is particularly bad at a location on the Königsbachfall in the national park, the so-called “Natural Infinity Pool” – named by the community, not the park officials. Some even just come to this Instagram hotspot. As a result, many beaten paths were created and there was so much trouble in the summer that "for reasons of nature conservation law, an entry ban" is to be issued around the area of the "Natural Infinity Pool". At the moment the case is still with the responsible district office.
Community can quickly get out of hand
Despite the negative experience, Sepp Wurm says that in principle he is not negative towards Instagram. There are also bloggers who have “become great ambassadors for our region” and social media also function as a communication channel for tourism management.
But he sees the problem in the fact that the community, as in the case of the "Natural Infinity Pool", can temporarily become completely independent and then no longer have any control over it.
Read here: Spectacular and worth protecting – From Berchtesgaden to the Wadden Sea: These are Germany's most beautiful national parks