Backlash as Swiss village weighs entry fees for hikers to Lake Oeschinen

The town of Kandersteg, where keen hikers can begin the trek to Lake Oeschinen, is the latest town in Switzerland to feel the pressure of overtourism. The municipality wants to introduce a fee to hike to the lake, but the plan is under scrutiny from both locals and tourists.

Kandersteg struggling with cost & maintenance of overtourism

Lake Oeschinen in the Bernese Oberland has everything a tourist visiting Switzerland might want: pristine blue water, spectacular views of the Alps and a hike to remember. But the lake’s popularity is causing problems, and now the local municipality has put forward a plan to charge hikers to visit the lake.

The local council is thinking about introducing a “turnstile or a digital solution using a QR code or app” in an attempt to control the some 7.000 outdoor enthusiasts who visit the lake on the busiest days, reports Blue News.

The cost of maintaining hiking paths, toilets and rangers falls on the local municipality. Most visitors come just for the day and spend hardly any money in the town itself, explains Kandersteg's mayor René-François Maeder.

Tourists and locals push back against proposed fee

While the problem of overtourism is widely recognised, the proposed solution is facing some backlash from both tourists and locals.

Visitors from Germany said, “Everyone comes here because of the social media videos,” but “the parking and gondolas area already expensive [...] to then charge extra for hiking up there, I don’t think that’s fair,” reports 20 Minuten.

Another tourist believes “it’s outrageous that you have to pay just for hiking,” though he added he would be more understanding if it benefited the local environment. However, “the price has to be appropriate. Five francs is okay, but if it’s 20 [francs], then I might as well just take the gondola.”

Even residents were in agreement: “I think it’s outrageous; these people shouldn’t be charged,” commented one local. Many agreed that if such a fee were introduced, it shouldn’t apply to residents.

What’s next for Kandersteg’s hiking toll?

The proposal to introduce a fee system is still in the planning stage, and the mayor intends to explore options with the Cantonal Office for Economic Affairs.

The amount that could be charged, how it would work, where it would apply and the legal parameters are yet to be decided, although Maeder explained that it won’t be a “flat daily tourist tax” for anyone wanting to visit Kandersteg.

The overall goal is to lessen the burden on the local village and “find a compromise”, potentially by spreading out visitor numbers across different days or offering alternative destinations.

This is not the first time a Swiss village has grappled with what to do about overwhelming numbers of visitors. Similar discussions have also taken place in Klöntal and even farther afield near Lake Garda in Italy.