© Tirol Werbung
29. 06. 12. - 16:49
A bridge too far for Tyrol Werbung
Tourist officials trying to promote one of Austria's best natural Alpine beauty spots are in hot water after they dreamed up an ad - featuring one of the biggest man-made eyesores in Europe.
Tourists usually flock to Austria's Tyrol region for its green meadows, mountain views and crystal clear lakes.
While Styria advertises itself as the green part of Austria – the new ads for the Tyrol area only show the massive Europa bridge - thousands of tons of steel and concrete soaring 620ft above the ground and carrying a six lane motorway.
The ad - published in Germany's big-selling news magazine Der Spiegel - has infuriated local travel experts who say it ruins the region's natural, green image.
"It is certainly not the way I would have gone about promoting it," said Ischgl district head of tourism Alfons Parth.
And luxury ski resort St Anton also said it was a bridge too far.
The resort's head of marketing Wilma Himmelfreundpointner said: "It's very unimpressive, we're not trying to sell motorways."
But tourism officials at Tyrol Werbung - who dreamed up the ad which says 'So Close, So Far' - said they were trying to show how quickly holidaymakers can get to the region.
Director Josef Margreiter claimed: "Sometimes advertising has to go in a different direction to shake things up.
"If people are talking about us that just shows that the adverts worked."
