Swiss eye new markets after Japanese stay away
Switzerland Tourism plans to focus on attracting new markets after the number of Japanese visitors halved in the last decade.
Japanese overnight stays have dropped from around one million in 2001 to 520,000 in 2010, Switzerland Tourism director Jürg Schmid told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper on Monday.
Other countries are also experiencing a drop in Japanese visitors, with many now choosing to travel to China instead.
Switzerland Tourism intends to turn its attention to other markets, particularly Brazil and Poland. Demand from Brazil is small but growing quickly, noted Schmid. In the coming years it hopes to have permanent representatives in both countries.
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