I don't think you can pin that on Chinese tourists? Maybe the stuff the boutiques sell is overpriced in an attempt to make a fast buck?

It's the same in many places - who wants to pay EUR30 for a coffee in St Mark's Square in Venice when you can go a couple of streets back and get one for EUR 3?

Doesn't make sense. The tourists bring in extra income, or no income. They don't stop regulars shopping at the boutiques.

Perhaps the loss-making vanity shops were going to close anyway and landlords have let real businesses take over the leases rather than more loss-making vanity shops who probably don't pay the rent on time anyway.

That was in Lucerne as well, their buses blocked the streets and the tourists the rest.....

I always thought that small businesses aka boutiques are most likely to gain more from being situated in the old town/touristical streets etc. I think of myself - I prefer to buy some souvenirs or local food, drink etc etc from the local artisans, small restaurants/diners or small shops/boutiques not Zara, McDonalds or any other international chain which I can find literally almost everywhere in the world. What would be the point. I'm not sure it's the tourists who put them out of business, au contraire.

No, definitely the Chinese tourists.

They also took so much free snow with them back to China that there is barely enough left to ski.

Yes, me too! But that mindset doesn't apply in the far east. Brands, brands, brands.

Small stores in general get put out of business because the locals stop shopping in them. Also Bern has over half a million of nights spend in hotels by people, this is besides the even bigger amount of day trips, and now when a couple of thousands of Chinese come they are to blame? What kind of racist bull shit is this.

Giethoorn, kinderdijk etc all the same.

Please don't come there are to many of you.

Also Giethoorn: Please come, we want you here They even have English sites purely aiming at getting more tourists like https://www.giethoorn.com/en/

Amsterdam does not have a problem with the Chinese groups, Amsterdam is having a problem with a shitty local government who tries to get tourists to spread more around the town since they cut down on police budgets so much that they simply are not able to do something about the trouble makers like the English who often come in large groups only to get drunk cheap.

An anecdote about shop closure in old city centers. I witnessed the end of a traditional butcher's shop.

The butcher wanted to retire and could not find anyone taking over the business. In my home country the butcher would have tirelessly manipulated his children into taking the business even if that would have led to their lifetime unhappiness...all in the name of the "family business pride". But the butcher was a nice guy and let his 3 children find their own path in life. The shop didn't close because of a greedy landlord, lack of customer support or zombie tourists...it closed simply because no one wanted to do the job anymore.

Before blaming the tourists for shop closure, better ask the shop owners what their reasons for closure are. The Swiss army knife stores may be saving buildings from decay after old owners retire and no one takes their place.

I do admit however that with the current outbreak of the new Coronavirus I would not mind those Chinese tourists skipping Switzerland for a while.

I wonder if OP just recently got a Swiss passport because that's when they usually go rampant, screaming "close the gates".

It will take a while until all 1,436,919,562 Chinese have visited Switzerland, even though they're quite efficient doing it. And that's only the Chinese living in China. After all the others have visited, the 1,436,919,562 will come back because they thought it was so pretty. Plus all those that look like Chinese to us.

I just learnt that they pay Fr. 29.00 for 9 pieces of chocs at the conficerie Jungfraujoch. Just imagine the taxes on profit of those.

Their behaviour? They put me to shame once at Zurich airport. It was an endless, did I mention endless?, queue at baggage check, it seemed like a million Asians and me and I was terribly annoyed (about queuing, not the Asians, LOL). Apparently it was obvious and several of them offered me to pass them by! What a notion! I immediately transformed into a good, patient girl, waiting my turn.

__________________
It's all a matter or perspective.
So move your butt and look at it from the other side

News just came in: Chinese travel agency's are due to the Coronavirus with immediate effect no longer allowed to sell package deals for holidays to destinations in or outside China.

OP can pop a champagne. (bought at a local Swiss store offc.)

Champagne is still import. I suggest OP drinks Sekt.

I know that by definition it is French (tho some Baltic states beg to differ).

I'd suggest a Mauler rosé brut from Val de Travers(NE)

No, only the French can produce "Champagne" because it must come from that region.

I know though the term entered other languages long ago and it basically means (generically) sparkling wine. (which of course is not the same thing as the sparkling wine produced in Champagne)

O/T I am English, I love Amsterdam and have been known to partake in a drink or two there. I can recommend the Cafe Gollem beer bars. However, it is certainly not a city for the English to visit with pounds for a cheap drinking holiday

That's the other country with the S you must be confusing Switzerland with ... Spain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals

Tourism, in every country of the world, has always had positive and negative effects.

Anyone saying tourism has more negative effects on Switzerland than positive ones should have themselves being checked into a mental hospital.

In case of some towns like Dubrovnic or Venice, I can absolutely see the need to "control the masses" or getting some reasonable fees from them, but those are mostly stingy western tourists coming from crusade ships.

Chinese tourists spend the second most money per person (per day) in Switzerland, just behind the Arabs. Who get scolded by the same racist people, usually.

https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/daten/...erhalten#h4_27

I'd prefer a million Chinese tourists over a single racist Texan person.

Happy year of the rat, everyone!

Champagne is a protected name. Champagne comes from the Champagne in France. Any other sparkling wine (even from other parts in France) is "Sekt" in German, sparkling wine as greenmount mentioned (or bubbly ) or the schuimwijn in Dutch - if that helps.