Switzerland's popular tourist attractions and destinations were again in the spotlight recently in Saudi Arabia as Switzerland Tourism Board made a promotional tour in the Kingdom. The partners of the Switzerland Tourism Board look at the importance of the Gulf market. Those partners continually seek to offer renovated tourism packages that aspire to further encourage the Gulf tourism market. Several tourism alternatives had been credited during the past years with special focus on family offers, free ticket by train, including children until age 16, and free public transport pass within a particular destination. The Board concentrates largely on the family tourism programs which are available at tourism agencies in the Kingdom. These programs have been prepared in Arabic language. They include tourism sites that can be visited. They offer a brief description about the information that would enable guests to visit these sites, the available discounts and the Internet site, among others. Representatives of various Swiss tourism sites and luxurious hotels participated in the event and confirmed the success achieved by the Switzerland Tourism Activity last year due to the big Saudi attendance. Saudi Arabia topped the ranking with the highest number of visitors in 2009. Statistics provided by the Tourism Monitor in Switzerland indicate that the Gulf citizen spends 530CHF per day, making GCC visitors number one in terms of daily expenditure. The continual increase year after year reflects the status that GCC occupies in Switzerland tourism market. In order to guarantee high standards of comfort to travelers, the Board launched its site on the Internet for facilitating reservation through the data base for more than 13,000 of the hotels and flats, and the tickets of the trains that facilitate the travel movement all round the world from and to all the cities of Switzerland. Zurich Airport represents a convergence point with a wide network of airlines that include 120 destinations all round the world, besides to the fact that the tourist in Switzerland enjoys one of the best ways and networks of railways in the world that roam all the beauty spots that are painted by the splendid nature, including the feet of Alpine enchanting mountains that really confirm that Switzerland is the really the heart of Europe, with multicultures and the unique model for the convergence and intermingling, and harmony of civilizations. Tourism in Switzerland registered a notable growth in spite of the international stagnancy, with 2.1 percent increase in the total of arrivals. Last year, Switzerland became part of the Schengen agreement which means that tourist who obtains Schengen visa can now travel to the country of beauty without the need to obtain additional visa to enter Switzerland, making it easier to travel all round Europe with one single visa. Besides the hotels, there are several hotel apartments in Switzerland to spend family vacation with competitive prices. In addition, there is a big chance for the young travelers to spend their time and relax in a calm and serene atmosphere that it is rare to find in any other spot in the world. For those who come to spend summer holidays and engage in walking, there are especially assigned places for practicing their hobbies. 2010 is called the year of walking on foot or strolling, to the extent that some 60,000 kilometers are now paved for such kind of recreation that would take tourists to the calmness of nature from the twisting Jora Liman Schfitzer hills.
