Asians are finally back!

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The travel industry really had to hit rock bottom during the Corona crisis. But now tourism is apparently recovering faster than expected. Swiss Tourism Director Martin Nydegger (52) has called 2023 the “Year of Asian Guests”. As Nydegger said in an interview with “SonntagsZeitung”, the return of travelers from Asian countries begins in the spring, not in the summer, as is supposed. “For the most part, we have successfully weathered the pandemic.” Of course, there are still side effects.

Nydegger added that demand will continue until late autumn and will be driven predominantly by guests from Southeast Asia. He deliberately spoke of an Asian year, not a Chinese year. “Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists made up a little less than four percent of all guests,” Nydegger says. It expects a gradual increase in the number of visitors from China in 2023.

No more big groups

More and more Chinese will only be interested in traveling to Switzerland. “They have also increased their budgets and therefore reward themselves with a higher quality and above all a longer stay,” said the head of tourism. They would also travel in smaller groups. “The pandemic is probably still resonating here. Large groups are avoided for safety reasons.”

But some Chinese have not yet dared to leave the Asian region. “There are also physical barriers. Travel providers don’t have enough hotel places yet, there are still bottlenecks in issuing the necessary Schengen visas,” says Nydegger. And airlines still lack capacity. (be)

Source :Blick