A small, scenic town in Switzerland has taken that old adage, “Any publicity is good publicity,”and run with it.
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Last month, city leaders of Bergün/Bravuogn implemented the unconventional marketing strategy of banning photography in the hopes of– ironically enough– raising the visibility of this scenic hamlet in the southeast part of the country as a vacation destination.
Town leaders approved the law last month, under the premise that flaunting its scenery will only invoke the green-eyed monster in anyone stuck at home or elsewhere and ultimately cause social unrest. After all, “beautiful vacation photos on social media make the viewers unhappy, because they themselves can not be on the spot.â€
thelocal
The truth is, they’re right– the photos do have us dying with jealousy! But, instead of causing unrest, they’re giving us a major cause of wanderlust!
The new law carries with it a fine of five francs for anyone who dares to disobey. But the city’s marketing director conceded that the fine will probably never be enforced.
thelocal
Still, the tourism office has already removed photos of the picturesque village from its social media accounts, and plans to delete them from other sites as well.
huffingtonpost
We’ve got to admit, the marketing ploy has totally worked on us. We can’t stop looking at whatever pictures we can find of Bergün!
huffingtonpost
“Bergün/Bravuogn is beautiful. We don’t want to make people outside the community unhappy by sharing social media photos of our picturesque landscape, and we cordially invite you to visit Bergün to experience it for yourself,”said city mayor Peter Nicolay.
huffingtonpost
“I am very pleased that the inhabitants of Bergün have the happiness of all people at heart. That makes me very proud.â€
huffingtonpost
The tactic has received mixed reactions from the public, with some so irked that they’ve vowed never to visit Bergün/Bravuogn, and others comparing the silly law to serious tactics imposed by North Korea. But if the marketing department’s goal was to get people talking about their little town, it certainly met that goal!
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