It's Friday, why not...

The Chinese tourist invasion doesn't seem to be ceasing in Switzerland. I live in the old town neighborhood of Bern, and beloved local small businesses are closing to open up for more Swiss Army Knife stores. Local transport busses nearly run over the hordes of Chinese refusing to budge in front of the Zytlogge. On Sunday's, I've witnessed the Chinese breaking into construction sites to use the portable toilets. They bring them in by the busload on a general quick city to city European tour and I wonder if this is any longer sustainable. As you most likely know, this is a general problem across all of Europe. They usually don't invest in local businesses and restaurants unless it is a tourist shop that may sell a replacement for their broken selfie sticks. What is the benefit to the economy other than for cheap hotels and gondola lifts?

Do you think the Swiss will ever do something to alter the currently allowed without restrictions zombie tourist takeover? Other towns and countries are fighting back, such as:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/w...&region=Footer

I'm all for multicultural visitors, but countries aren't theme parks. Of course it is not entirely the Chinese...there is a general issue of over tourism across Europe.

I don't see it as a problem, tourism brings good money. However, I don't know how sustainable will be in the future - all these cheap flights etc. But not only for the Chinese tourists, for each of us.

How do you know they are Chinese?

Because their tour guide carries around a flag of China for them to follow around.

Of course there are also Japanese, Korean, Indian, Saudi Arabian, Russian, American (eek) & many many more foreign visitors. I have just found the Chinese visitors to be more prevalent.

Switzerland has no problem with those groups or with to much tourists in General. You might see a horde of vandals, I see a group of people having fun and pumping a lot of money in our economy.

And most places should stop complaining, they themselves made a lot of effort to attract those tourists, and now that they are coming they are complaining...

Not only all that. It is also unhygienic. They bring dreaded pathogens with them. I'll be stocking up with disinfectant and surgical masks. Come to think of it, the masks will probably be made in China as well as the active ingredient of the disinfectant.

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

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

But how? As it has been widely reported, they don't invest much in the local economy.

Agreed, we should all be considerate of the environmental impact tourism has.

How can groups of 4.000 people not inject money in the economy? They eat and sleep here, they rent a convoy of busses.

Also 4.000 people more or less on a day is peanuts for most towns, the Chinese simply attract more attention since they sort of group together. I'd say bring them on, and bring more of them.

Tourism is the first things impacted by a financial crisis and we haven't had one of those for a while. Maybe during the next crisis a lot of unexpected people is going to cry for the missing tourists.

Just for trolling, the Chinese new year concert in the KKL https://www.kkl-luzern.ch/de/24-01-2...rskonzert.html

From the long lines I see at jewellers stores (in Lucerne f.e.) and the amount of tourists exiting with packages, some companies definitely have a profit.

Fair point. I guess they don't inject money into local small businesses...they are in fact putting them out of business. Two shops closed on my street in the past 6 months because someone wanted to open a tourist shop and the landlord took the higher rent bait.

Stop talking crap, please. ETH did an article on it for Switzerland called "The Increasing Significance of Chinese Visitors for Swiss Tourism" https://kof.ethz.ch/en/news-and-even...s-tourism.html

What sort of local small businesses did you have in mind?

I'm not so sure. They seem to go mad for the stuff made by re-purposing Swiss army merchandise (blanket bags, hoodies, etc.) in Zurich, for example. I think a couple of those shops are on their tourist route.

Zurich seems to be the shopping stop - Bahnhofstrasse and whatnot. Maybe Bern is more for sightseeing?

I think it is too late to try to influence this unfortunate mindset. On top, the only quick and efficient way would be to make it really expensive. And subsidize other industries more here (than tourism).

Chinese tourists are contributing a lot to the local economies, they come in their thousands and all spend money on hotels, food and gifts.

Sure they may be some of the least social intelligent and most inconsiderate people on the planet, but to say they don't have a positive impact on the local economy is just nonsense. The burgeoning Chinese middle class is considered a key tourist group in almost every country including the USA. ETH did an article on it for Switzerland called "The Increasing Significance of Chinese Visitors for Swiss Tourism" https://kof.ethz.ch/en/news-and-even...s-tourism.html

You must be pretty miserable here seeing as all you seem to do is spend your time moaning. Maybe it's time to speak to your partner about moving back to the USA where you were happy in life and career?

I thought you put me on the ignore list, I guess you simply can't resist can you?

Last year the Netherlands started to try to control the number of tourists visiting - not just Chinese, but I did see a TV report about a typical "windmill" village that was overrun by thousands of Chinese tourists each day who came by bus to take photos, destroyed foot paths etc and didn't spend a cent at the local shops.

Guardian article..

Sure, hotels get some money but I'm betting that they give big discounts to get these block bookings and it probably safeguards some lower paid jobs. Last summer there were thousands of Chinese tourists visiting Zürich (I read somewhere that one company alone brought over something like 50,000 of their employees as part of a company incentive bonus). Every day during a 2 week period buses brought crowds of them to visit the Markthalle where I work. They came in, took photos, queued for the toilets but I don't recall seeing one tourist buy anything.

I see there is a problem, but not really sure what could be done about it.

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