The instagram tax has been introduced for those who want to see Lake Kauma in Switzerland

The turquoise waters of the Swiss mountain lake Kauma (Cauma / Caumasee) attract tens of thousands of tourists annually. With the advent of social networks, the popularity of this place, located at an altitude of 1.000 meters, near the picturesque alpine village of Flims, has increased dramatically. Thousands of tourists, including many Instagrammers, have visited this place to take photos with a gorgeous landscape in the background.

The authorities of the canton of Graubünden decided to further reduce the number of tourists and introduced a visitor's tax. It is also known as the Instagram tax because most of those who visit Kauma Lake cannot resist taking a photo in this wonderful place.

The fee is 19 Swiss francs, which is not exactly a small amount, which also led to a wave of criticism from many netizens. Some wanted to go to bathe, others to visit, but very few are willing to pay.

According to the authorities, daily only 1700 people can buy the ticket and enjoy the beauty of the local landscape. Government representatives responded to the wave of criticism on social media:

"We don't want to exclude visiting tourists, but we intend to limit their number so that Lake Kauma is admired primarily by those who have made it a tradition to visit these places," explains Guido Casti, head of the department of tourism from Flims.

On top of that, the authorities apologize, noting that it is a common practice in Europe for natural tourist attractions to have an entrance fee. What do you think? Should natural attractions have an entrance fee? 🙂