Switzerland's 'Alpine Queen' expects more Chinese visitors during Lunner New Year holiday
Recent snowfall in China, even in its warm south, made people very excited, and this gave Swiss tourism agencies more confidence to attract more guests from China, especially with the Chinese New Year vacations approaching.
On the streets of Interlaken, one of the most popular tourism destinations in Switzerland, Asians are the most frequently seen groups, and people can easily find Chinese characters with welcoming messages in major shops and hotels.
"Traditionally, we don't have so many visitors from Asia, but in the past two years our Asian tourists, especially from China, have increased sharply," Goncalo Costa, a tourism guide in Jungfrau, said.
Chinese media estimated that at least six million Chinese tourists have planned to travel abroad during the coming 2016 New Year holidays, which takes place the beginning of next month.
Being praised as "Queen of the Alps" and "top of Europe", Jungfrau, meaning virgin in German, is now to expect more tourists from China.
At 4,158 meters above sea level, Jungfrau is one of the Alps' highest peaks. Together with the 23-km-long Aletsch glacier at its foot, it has been listed as one of the United Nations natural heritage sites.
Taking a special train to the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 meters altitude, visitors always have an opportunity to enjoy the delightful views and stunning stops inside the glacier gallery during the two-and-a-half hour trip.
A Jungfrau Railways staffer said in 2015, even though the Swiss tourism industry was facing big challenges, the number of visitors to Jungfrau actually increased by 17 percent to exceed 1 million people for the first time in its history, with tourists from China the largest-growing group.
The latest figures from Switzerland Tourism showed that China has become Switzerland's number one source country of tourists in Asia.
The good news for Chinese tourists is that in order to facilitate more Chinese people's travels to Switzerland, the Swiss Embassy in Beijing has decided to launch another three visa processing centers in Chengdu, Wuhan and Shenyang on Jan. 29, just before the coming Chinese New Year on Feb. 8.
Alpine chalets, igloos, ice fishing, skiing, or sledding on the three-km long Eiger Run trail, the Swiss tourism attraction is obviously ready for the growing number of Chinese vacationers who tend to spent more money during their travels.
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