Tourism in Switzerland: The Crowding out Effects from Chinese Tourists on other Nationalities Visitors to Switzerland

Introduction

Switzerland is one of the most prominent tourist destinations globally. Enjoying picturesque landscapes and snowcapped mountains for much of the year, adventure tourism and extreme sporting are some of the most popular activities engaged in by visitors to the country. Cottage accommodation is one of the ways in which local communities benefit from the money brought into the country by visiting foreigners. The situation of perennial occupation of the country by visitors creates a situation of overcrowding, whereby accessing attraction sites is hampered by numerous other people trying to approach at the same time. In this literature review, the researchers attempt to discover the causes and implications of the mass tourism numbers in such regions of the country as Central Switzerland, Interlaken, and Luzern.

From the study title, two terms require definition for a better understanding of the topic. According to Newsdesk (2016), mass tourism is a situation where the number of visitors to a country is significantly high compared to that of the local populations. Crowding out, on the other hand, is the situation where visitors to an attraction site are crammed together in such density that the environment becomes uncomfortable, (Jim, Hu & Karan, 2016). The view of people is impeded by others, personal space is invaded, and feelings of invasion are experienced, especially when big batches of newcomers flood a previously calm place.

In this review, the two topics are studied alongside each other to determine if there is a situation of crowding out in Switzerland brought about by the massive tourist numbers recorded in previous times. Further, the contribution of Chinese tourists- whose visitation numbers to the country have been rising steadily- will be studied to determine if they are responsible for creating a crowded out effect on locals and tourists from other regions.

Articles studied for this literature review are all in English, published by scholars from diverse nationalities. The paper utilizes only those sources that were felt to contribute significantly to the comprehension of the topic, with a majority of them coming from tourism or tourism-affiliated journals. One major challenge encountered is the scarcity of material on the situation of the tourism industry. Content on the crowding out effect of Chinese tourists was also unavailable for the Switzerland market. To compensate on the shortage, non-scholarly material has been used, specifically online periodicals, magazines, and broadcasts. It is hoped that this study will inspire more scholars to contribute to the cause of creating content on these pertinent issues.

Many of the sources were, however, discovered to concur with the theory that Chinese tourists create crowding out effects in their destinations. It was also a general consensus among those scholars who addressed the issue, that excessive tourist numbers lead to pressures on local facilities. The environment is not spared by mass tourism either, and in adverse cases, crowding out alienates other visitors and cause mass exodus of traditional visitors.

Literature Review

According to Liu, Calve and Ballet, (2015) Switzerland is flocked by touring people from all over the world because of several physical and social factors. The one greatest attractiveness of the country is the natural beauty of rolling hills and picturesque valleys which make for wonderful sightseeing opportunities. Tourists are taken from on sight-seeing trips in fitted cable cars where all views can be best taken in. The novelty of visiting a historically, religiously, or geographically iconic location is another reason why tourists flock to certain areas, (Liu, Calve & Ballet, 2015). The Top of Europe summit of the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland is an iconic spot frequented by Europeans.

According to Malec and Abrham, (2016), the benefits of tourist enjoyed by Switzerland include stimulated investment levels, increasing the internal competition of local companies, and foreign exchange. The tourists who visit the country participate in the local trade for commodities such as watches and souvenirs, which require that local businesses invest heavily to give them a variety. Chinese tourists are especially heavy spenders, (Su, Lin & Liu, 2011), and they have led to the revival of The Glacier Express, for example, (Osborn, 2015).

Local companies also have to compete for the Chinese tourists market. The rivalry increases the efficiency of businesses to boost their chances of succeeding, improving the overall quality of internal production, (Malec & Abrham, 2016). Foreign exchange rates for the Swiss franc also gain value when demand increases as tourists convert their moneys to transact in the country, (Alec & Abrham, 2016). The increase in value of the Swiss franc has however had some negative effects, with European tourists keeping away on account of its high price, (Newsdesk, 2015). The decision to turn to the Chinese market was made largely because it is not influenced by conversion rates as much as the neighbouring European markets, (Swiss Tourism Federation, 2014).

The infrastructure of Switzerland is also highly specialized for tourism with a system of roads, rail tracks, and airstrips scattered around the country. Movement of people is made easier by the transport network while customization of the infrastructure to the attraction points gives better access to visitors to enjoy the sights, (Gossling & Peeters, 2015). The snow-covered mountaintops are also very popular for adventure tourists, (Ralf, McDonalds, Duan, Sun & Chen, 2014) who come from China and elsewhere to ski. The economy of Switzerland benefits greatly from the tourism industry, the sixth largest exporter and contributing about 4.6% of total export revenue earned, (Swiss Tourism Federation, 2014).

With the highly attraction factors, the number of visitors in Switzerland has been rising steadily over the last few decades, driven by vigorous promotion and advertisement by the government, (Gossling & Peeters, 2015). As the exploitation of natural resources such as water, food, and electricity has continued being increased to cater for the tourists needs, the ecological footprint has been noticed, (Matasci & Altamirano, 2010). With 47,500,000 air passengers and about 450,000 flights, (Swiss Tourism Federation, 2014), the carbon footprint of tourism logistics has been undeniably great.

Apart from the environmental effects of high tourist numbers, the quality of visitation has also taken a hit from the increase. Matasci & Altamirano, (2010) report that the ecological balance has been affected by rising numbers of visitors especially on the freshwater wells to support numerous health resorts operated in the country. Technological innovations being used to stem the flow of pollution have not been successful in turning the situation around. The mass tourism situation in Switzerland, therefore, is a case of overexploitation of resources, facilities, and the environment. It affects the quality of services accessed by tourists such as mountain skiing in ways that are not clearly discernible, (Matasci & Altamirano, 2010).

The next problem and the crux of this study, is the overcrowding effects of Chinese tourist on other visitors in Switzerland. In the last decade, China has established itself as the leading source of globetrotters. With overall growth in tourist numbers of 5% being recorded worldwide, the swell-rate of the Chinese market has been an astounding 68% or roughly thirteen times the global average, (Su, Lin & Liu, 2011). The rapid growth rate of the economy of China has given rise to increasingly wealthy middle class citizens with the financial means to tour new areas of the world, starting from Taiwan and spreading outwards, (Ralf, et al. 2014).

An observed trend from the tourists originating from China has been a habit of travelling in large parks of more than twenty people, and when packaged tours are offered along with transportation, up to busloads, (Arlt, 2016). This tends to intrude on other tourists comfort, relaxation, and space, especially when visiting areas such as buildings where space is limited. It also causes alienation when few or lone travellers are overwhelmed by the presence of strange people around them. The fact that language barriers prevent ease of interactions with other travellers also creates discomfort.

In Switzerland, the numbers of traditional tourists from other nations has been declining steadily as Chinese tourists invade, (Swissinfo, 2013). Cultural and behavioural differences have been cited as creating distaste among other visitors. So wide has been the divide that alternative means of transportation has been sought to separate the Chinese from others, (Osborn, 2015). Simple differences such as queuing in stores, tasting of foods in a restaurant before buying, and respecting monuments and attraction sites have created much differences.

The crowding out emotions has been expressed in social media platforms where rating of services is facilitated. The phenomenon can be attributed to the scenario of disturbance that has been created by increasingly large numbers of Chinese tourists with different norms from those of United States and Europe Westerners, (Jim, Hu & Karan, 2016).

The factors that contribute to the situation include age, frequency of visitation, cultures, and family and other organized travels. According to Arlt, (2016), a big proportion, (78%) of Chinese tourists remain in their first destination even in cases where their schedule does not stipulate that they confine themselves to these areas. This leads to overcrowding of gateway cities such as Jungfraujoch, Geneva, and Luzern, while other localities may be largely unvisited. The problem is much more pronounced among the aged- above 50 years old- that the younger people who are more likely to come looking for adventure, (Ralf, et al. 2014). For younger, more adventure-fuelled youths, experiencing outdoor activities that may or may not be available back home is a huge motivational factor to travel away from cities and into the Alps.

Visitors who are returning after prior visitation are also lazier than their first-timers in terms of dispersing from their first destination, a fact that can be observed across the board in international travellers (Arlt, 2016). With a decreased sense of wonder in subsequent visits, tourists are most likely to return to attractions where they had most fun the last time rather than crisscrossing the country seeking for new attractions. The most popular destinations thereby continue to receive increasing numbers of Chinese visitors who, due to their batch travel habits of organized tours, are likely to fill up spaces.

Cultural differences also contribute to the overpopulation effects of Chinese tourists, especially the part of the definition that demarcates intrusion of personal space as a cause for discomfort, (Jim, Hu & Karan, 2016). Taking the East to West division of the world as representing the United States and Europe in one hand and predominantly China on the other, the social prejudices may extend to more than just the numbers of Chinese tourists. The two groups come from opposite heritage, which makes it harder to tolerate differences. Since crowding out is as much a physical occurrence as a state of mind, Westerners may express discomfort even when their personal space is not invaded.

Mode of travel is also quite influential in determining crowding out effects experienced by non-C...