Switzerland is one of the countries in the world where the tourism industry is very important and well developed. The Swiss tourism industry popularly referred to as a holiday trade is one of the ways through which the otherwise unproductive features of the country are being harnessed to bring wealth and prosperity to the country.

Switzerland is a mountainous country with only 25% cultivatable land. It has limited mineral resources and thus it had to develop the tourism industry by taking advantage of the otherwise physical limited and the hostile physical environment.

Zermatt, Switzerland

The southern Swiss resort town of Zermatt is located in a valley in the foothills of the famous Matterhorn. The Matterhorn draws large numbers of mountaineers, who use Zermatt as their base. The town also provides good access to ski slopes.

Factors Favouring the Development of Tourism in Switzerland

Beautiful Scenery: This includes the snow covered mountains of the Alps and Jura with their glacial features like cirques, Arêtes, Pyramidal Peaks, etc and the Swiss plateau which attract tourists for viewing and taking up activities like mountaineering, skiing and others.

An ideal climate: The temperate climate with warm summers and cold winters with a lot of snow has promoted various sports and games which have given Switzerland an opportunity to develop her industry nearly all year round.

In summer, the warm sunny days, enable tourists to view the magnificent scenery of snow capped mountains, clear blue skies and water falls.

The summers also enable the tourists in sun bathing and swimming in the lakes.

In winter, the biggest attraction is snow, which facilitates activities like skiing and ice skating. Skiing is the act of gilding over snow on long narrow runners called skis. Many people enjoy the thrill of speeding down mountain slopes. It is an extremely popular form of entertainment and competition.

Explore the magnificent Engelberg mountains: The TITLIS with Europe's highest suspension bridge, the TITLIS Cliff Walk, the Brunni with the Härzlisee, and the Fürenalp are some of the insider tips.

Monte Generoso and Valle di Muggio

Capolago

Monte Generoso has so much to offer: a sweeping view of northern Italy and Ticino, the opportunity to discover traces of prehistoric cultures in the Bear Cave, to sense the vast horizons of interstellar space in the astronomical observatory or learn a great deal on various theme hikes.

The sweeping view from the peak of the 1,704 m high Monte Generoso is unique: one's gaze ranges from the Apennines to the Alps, across valleys, lakes, towns and mountain peaks. The flora on the mountain is also unique, for Ice Age species have survived here that no longer exist elsewhere. The prehistoric cave bear on the other hand, did not survive - however, archeological finds can be marvelled at in the Bear Cave.

The summer tourist season which extends from June to August is mainly celebrated by tourist in the Matean region especially in towns like Bern, Zurich, Geneva and Lucerne and around the lake shores such as Lucerne and Interlaken.

While the winter tourist season extends from November to March. The main winter resorts are found in the alpine region and these include: Grindelwald, Kardersteg, Murren, Lauterbrunnen, Gstaad in the Bernase Oberland; Vevey, Licarno, Zermatt among others.

The presence of water bodies like lakes, rives with different features, like water falls on rivers Rhine, Rhone, Inn and beaches on lakes like Geneva, Zurich, Constance are used for swimming and exploration.

Location: Although Switzerland is a land locked country, her strategic location in the heart of Europe and near Rive Rhine makes it easy for her to be connected to other countries. Besides, she is surrounded by wealthy countries like Germany, Italy, France whose people can afford to take holidays and spend a lot of money.

Better transport network: There has been great improvement in the transport system especially the electrification of the railway and its broad networks. The coming of the railway era followed by the motor-vehicle enabled most inaccessible sports resorts to be reached by a wide variety of people. The railway and road transport have been facilitated by abundance of rivers which help in the production of HEP has enabled the Swiss to electrify full the railway network. Cable cars have also been develop and these reach even the highest peaks in a short time.

Hospitality: The Swiss are a welcoming group of people .This has provided additional advantages since people always want to go back to the countries where they were received better.

A variety of quality meals and snacks served in Swiss Hotels

Political stability: Switzerland is a peaceful country with a policy of neutrality and therefore welcomes visitors from all over the world. With the neutrality, Switzerland does not have spend her revenue on military warfare to fight wars that do not concern her. This explains why Switzerland is a centre of resolving international conflicts.

Improved accommodation: Switzerland has up to date accommodation facilities. It is covered by over 7,800 hotels, which can accommodate millions of people. In addition, chalets and camping sites are also available to cater for the increasing demand of hotel accommodation. The hotels have a high standard of service and genuine art of hotel keeping for which Switzerland has become a classic example.

Skilled workers: The workers are highly skilled in hotel management and maintenance. They value their work and provide high quality services.

Lingua-plurality: The workers especially those in the hotel regions endeavor to learn other languages to break down the communication barrier. Each worker is expected to speak languages like Spanish, German, English and French.

Capital: there is enough capital to invest in the industry. This capital is secured from the Swiss trade through the exportation of her quality goods especially from the watch making and precession industry.

Technology: The higher level of science and technology are important for designing modern beaches, transport and communication routes leading to better organized tour packages.

Government policy: Favourable government policies supporting the tourist industry by giving loans, developing infrastructure, attracting private investors and training skilled labour have promoted tourism.

Good social services: Availability of good social services like power supply, waste management, health facilities, education institutions attract tourists of higher class.

Advertising: An advanced system of advertising like using the internet, magazines, brochures, trade shows, creating awareness internationally has favoured the tourist industry.

Industrial development: Availability of industry like making textiles, watch making and chemical engineering in the areas of Geneva, Bern, Basel, Zurich attract tourists for demonstration purposes.

International bodies / organization: The presence of international organizations and backing institutions like the Red Cross, WHO, ICRC, ILO, and the International banking institutions have attracted tourists.

The number of tourists in Switzerland has increased over the years and more facilities have been put in place to keep up with the pace. Hotels have been enlarged and new ones built and more camping sites have been put in place. Traditional Guest-houses and taverns have also been constructed to cater for the Increasing number of tourists.

The major summer resorts in Switzerland include Laussane, Lugano, Lucano.