Vienna - Every year, thousands of tourists come to Salzburg for a taste of "The Sound of Music," wallowing in the Austrian city's association with the movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. But now a plan to turn the former home of the film's von Trapp family into an additional attraction is proving just too much for many long-suffering locals.
They prefer to think of their city as the home of Mozart and a summer festival featuring world-class opera, music and theatre performances.
But of the 1.1 million visitors last year, around 400,000 came just for the Sound of Music, says Herbert Brugger, Salzburg's tourism chief.
On Friday, the original villa of the legendary von Trapp family, protagonists of the movie, is due to be inaugurated as a hotel located on the outskirts of Salzburg.
Maria von Trapp, a 94-year-old daughter of Georg and Maria and member of the original family choir, is arriving from the United States to be present at the inauguration.
"She will be able to sleep in her childhood room for the first time in 70 years," says the hotel's owner and manager Christopher Unterkofler.
But he says, potential guests from China, Japan, the United States and elsewhere cannot book rooms yet, as action by a citizens' group has delayed the effective opening until at least October.
Georg von Trapp, his wife Maria and their children lived from 1923 to 1938 in the house, which does not, in fact, feature as a location in the film.
The singing family became famous when the story about their daring escape from the Nazis in 1938 was made into the Oscar-winning musical film in 1965.
A local citizens' group says it has collected around 900 signatures against the inclusion of a small museum in the 14-room hotel, forcing the delay in the hotel opening.
The group fears an increase in visitors will have a negative impact on life and real estate in the affluent part of Salzburg where the hotel is located.
"The main problem is with the traffic," says Heidi Schitter, a leader of the citizen's committee. Like many Austrians, she says she has never seen Sound of Music.
Although she has nothing against the von Trapps, who now live in the United States, she says it is "a bit ridiculous" to promote the hotel with the visit by one of the Trapp children.
The story about Maria von Trapp's staying in her old room was just "tugging on heartstrings," she says.
Contrary to the US, Britain and East Asia, The Sound of Music is neither well-known nor popular in Austria and Germany.
"Maybe the movie is a bit too corny for us," tourism chief Brugger says - although another factor might be the negative portrayal of Nazi Germany and Austria.
The von Trapp hotel management says it has shelved plans for the museum, owing to local protests. But Heidi Schitter says she is still concerned that some sort of Sound of Music visitors' centre would be operated in the villa's grounds.
Besides their scepticism about Sound of Music tourism, Salzburg's citizens are also afraid that the new hotel could draw visitors fascinated with the villa's darker past in World War II.
From 1939 to 1945, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler lived and worked in the 878-square-metre building, together with a butler and guards. "There are maniacs who visit just for that reason," Schitter said.
