Tourism in Switzerland Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tourism in Switzerland - Literature review Example However, the impact has not been extensive because of a number of factors such as new types of tourism like health and medical tourism, strong financial services in the country, and ability of the industry players in the country to deal with the situation. Impact of Currency Fluctuation on Tourism in Switzerland Over the years, tourism has been one of the greatest phenomena that enhance human interactions, cultural exchanges, leisure activities, and economic advancements among other benefits. It is agreeable that people across the world learn new things and experience new things through tourism (Elliott and Johns, 1993). Tourism entails activities of individual or group of individuals travelling to destinations and staying in environments that are away from their usual environment for a particular period of time for leisure, pilgrimage, business and other purposes (Lundberg et al, 2005). Tourism has provided the human species with the opportunity to explore new environments and travel to various parts of the world with fewer restrictions, a scenario which would otherwise be unattainable. Due to tourism and benefits derived from it, countries hosting tourism destinations have relaxed their rules and laws on visitors visiting for tourism reasons (Reynard, 2008). Actually, in most cases, countr ies have offered both the social and economic incentives to encourage more tourists to visit their countries. Most, if not all countries in the world, have at least one or more tourist destinations (Bhatia, 2004). That fact notwithstanding, there are countries that are preferred by tourists more compared to other countries. This scenario can be attributed to a number of factors that include but are not limited to political stability in particular countries; types and qualities of tourist destinations in particular countries; socio-cultural factors; level of technological advancements; and economic factors such as currency fluctuation (Fyall & Garrod 2005). These factors not only affect the number of tourists visiting particular countries, but they also influence the frequency of their visits to those countries (Kirchgassner, 2009). In Europe, Switzerland is one of the most preferred tourist destinations. The history of tourism in Switzerland can be traced back to mid 19th century (S witzerland: Market profile, 2005). Since that time it has developed to become one of the most sophisticated industries in the country that has a considerable contribution to the country’s economy. Besides, tourism has enhanced trade and foreign relations of Switzerland with the rest of the world (Hopkins et al, 2002). The tourism infrastructure in Switzerland is one of the highly developed across the world, concentrated mostly in the cities and mountainous regions (Sommerville, 2011). Switzerland’s landscapes and Alpine climate are cited as one of the main tourists’ attractions in Switzerland. Along with that, Switzerland has one of the greatest and most diverse commercial hubs, thus making it the preferred destination for tourists (Edgell, 2008). The role of tourism in the economy of Switzerland is significant; it accounts for over four percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additionally, tourism industry in the country has helped in brid ging the unemployment rates as it creates employment opportunities both in the urban and rural areas (Datamonitor, 2010). Groux & Jesswein (2011) explain that tourism industry, just like most industries operating in the business environment, is subject to external environmental