Switzerland eyes 25% increase in overnight stays by Indians

Switzerland is looking at up to 25 per cent increase in overnight stays by Indians in the country this year, for which it has launched a slew of initiatives to promote itself as a year-round destination.
In 2014, Switzerland had a total of around 7.5 lakh overnight stays from Indian visitors in hotels and service apartments.
"We are aiming at a growth of up to 25 per cent in 2015. It will be much more than in the previous year. We are extremely happy with the growth of 25 per cent we have from January to July this year," Switzerland Tourism Director India Claudio Zemp told PTI.

A big growth has come from FIT (individual travellers) segment and people staying in service apartments, he added.
On the new initiatives, he said: "It is really important for us to highlight that Switzerland is a year-round destination rather than a place where you go only in May and June."
Switzerland Tourism is focusing on promoting the country as a destination for winters, with snow offering "a very different experience".

"We are really going to start working with lots of tour operators to start packages for winter holidays. We are strongly looking at soft sport packages such as sledging," he added.

That apart, Switzerland Tourism has unveiled 'Grand Tour of Switzerland', a 1,600 km-long road trip linking the country's most popular tourist and natural destinations in one scenic journey.
India currently is the 10th largest source market for Switzerland and the second in Asia after China. Globally, Germany, the UK and the US are its biggest markets.
At present, tourism accounts for 8 per cent of the total GDP of Switzerland.
Switzerland Tourism is a federal public corporation, whose mission is to promote the country as a holiday, travel and conference destination both at home and abroad.