Switzerland’s tourism body said on Thursday it was trying to smooth the flow of holidaymakers throughout the year to protect the Alpine country from the dangers of over-tourism.
Switzerland Tourism said it will seek to highlight the off-season and promote off-the-beaten-track destinations.
Officials said at a press conference in Zurich that the agency wanted to direct vacationers “to the right places, at the right time.”
There is no “general overtourism problem in Switzerland”, said agency chief Martin Niedeger, although there are “temporary and local bottlenecks, well known in the industry”.
The village of Iseltwald in central Switzerland, for example, suddenly saw Asian tourists flock to the shores of Lake Brienz last year after the huge success of the South Korean Netflix series “Crash Landing on You.”
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The village of about 400 residents decided to charge a fee of five Swiss francs ($5.55) to tourists who wanted to go to the float for a photo where a romantic scene was filmed.
Nydegger said the Swiss generally had a positive opinion of the industry. According to a survey carried out by the organization, only 5% are concerned about tourism.
“The strength of the Swiss franc is already a defense, because it limits access to mass tourism,” Damian Constantin, head of the conference of regional tourist office directors, told AFP.
Along with the strong currency, the high cost of living also makes Switzerland an expensive destination to visit, further limiting the risk of over-tourism, he said.
But Swiss Tourism wants to be proactive in protecting a sector that generates 43 billion francs ($48 billion) a year and 4.5 percent of the country’s GDP, according to Nydegger.
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The agency plans to work with tour operators to offer off-the-beaten-track packages such as hiking trails and e-bike tours in the luxury winter ski resort of Davos-Klosters, promoted with the help of Chinese online content creators.
It has also launched campaigns to promote tourism during the fall to extend the summer season.
“Switzerland’s diversity is highlighted worldwide so that travelers can spread out better, dive deeper and stay longer,” the agency said.
Source: AFP