By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter

Switzerland wants to further increase its share of visitors from GCC countries especially Qatar through various tourism strategies and a new campaign dubbed as “Vistas.”

Members of a Swiss delegation said they had been holding roadshows in Jeddah, Dammam, Bahrain, Riyadh, Qassim, Muscat, Kuwait, Dubai, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Doha this month.

During a press conference held at the Grand Hyatt in Doha earlier this week, representatives of over 40 tourism destinations, companies and Swiss hotels showcased some of the top tourism destinations.

According to figures from the Switzerland Tourism about 205,736 people from the GCC went to the European country from January to November 2013. The figure is 22.7% up compared with 2012. It noted that visitors spent an average of $550 per day.

Of this figure, at least 10%  were Qataris (about 20,000) while the biggest chunk came from Saudi Arabia followed by the United Arab Emirates. The data also said many tourists from the GCC countries normally stay for about three days.

Urs Schnider, Switzerland’s deputy head of mission, said the opening of the embassy in Doha has helped eased visa application for Qataris and expatriates.

“That is very favourable in the tourism sector especially now that we have a visa office in Qatar which was not the case before,” he said, adding that the two countries opened their respective embassies two years ago in a bid to strengthen tries. 

The official said his country has a lot to offer besides world famous chocolates and watches.

Matthias Albrecht, Switzerland Tourism’s director for GCC, pointed out that their 2014 summer campaign slogan “Get Natural” features most of breathtaking views in Switzerland.

Besides mountain journeys, adventures and beautiful resorts, he said they also offer “high end” medical treatment. 

The restaurants offer some of the best international dishes, including Halal foods.

Some of the places to visit include Geneva (The Humanitarian Adventure) and Zurich described as a shopping paradise showcasing the best brands in the world. Many visitors also come to St Moritz, Lausanne, Lugano and Bad Ragaz for reasons such as leisure, golf, amusement and other adventures.

Albrecht said the GCC is placed among their top five strategic growth markets for further development together with Brazil, Russia, China, India and Poland.

Switzerland Tourism also launched its online website www.switzerland.com/ar with 2,400 pages of Arabic content.