Chinese tourists accounted for the largest group of visitors choosing Switzerland as their favourite destination before the spread of the Coronavirus and the restrictions imposed to contain its further spread, and now the country is eager to welcome back tourists from China.
According to the CGTN report, in 2019, visitors from China spent a total of 1.85 million hotel nights in Switzerland, while with the amelioration of the epidemiological situation, the country wants to have Chinese tourists back, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“When the Chinese tourist comes, they spend a lot of money. Be it in services, like hotels, and of course, also in buying products from Switzerland. This makes the Chinese guests very important,” Andre Aschwanden, Spokesman of Switzerland Tourism, told CGNT.
In order to attract a larger number of visitors from China, authorities in Switzerland have launched campaigns, but up to this point, the comeback of Chinese tourists is still slow.
A notice provided previously by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism revealed that from February 6, Chinese travel agencies, as well as tour operators, would be eligible to restart pilot outbound group tours and also provide visitors with airline as well as hotel packages.
Authorities in Switzerland previously confirmed that passengers from China reaching Switzerland would not be required to undergo a mandatory testing process, despite the fact that China was subject to an increased number of COVID-19 infection cases.
The government of Switzerland noted that the Omicron variant spread in China posed only a small risk to the Swiss population and the Swiss health system.
Previously, the director from China, Daniela Chiani, said that she expects a significant recovery for travel from China to Switzerland this year following the abolishment of COVID-9 restrictions.
“We welcome the latest measures that the Chinese government took towards the reopening of outbound travel. This is a major step for Switzerland Tourism,” Chiani told Xinhua in an interview.
In addition to the Chinese, Switzerland also attracts a large number of Canadians as well who plan to travel to Switzerland for tourism purposes. The figures provided by the Federal Office of Statistics revealed that last year there was registered a total of 83 per cent increase in Canadian overnight stays in this country, for 227,658 nights.
Besides, it was noted that the overnight figures combined from the United States and Canada to Swiss territory in January this year were 9.7 per cent higher compared to those of the same period in 2019.
Source: Schengen Visa