As expats set out from Switzerland to Turkey at the beginning of this summer, Zurich and Geneva were already filled with tourists. The arrivals were not only welcomed by billboards decorated with clock advertisements. This year's welcome committee included the tourism office's "Swisstainable" showcase as well as the new "Travel with Care" campaign. A survival guide was attached to the bottom: “Don't talk loudly, don't take photos without permission, don't deviate from the path.” I thought he was sitting well. A veteran teacher's determination to educate, an apartment manager's determined stance while collecting dues. Exactly the attitudes we are familiar with in Switzerland. Moreover, not only etiquette but also clothing is under control. Covering the face is prohibited, the fine is 1000 CHF. Even if you are a sheikh's wife who comes to leave a fortune in the luxury shops of Geneva, you will take off that veil while visiting.
'DEATH TOURISM'
Switzerland's place in tourism is not limited to its Alpine landscapes, banks and boarding schools that attract elite tourists. This country is also the center of "death tourism", a rare niche in the world. Euthanasia is allowed, but the rules are clear: Prove that you made your decision with free will, overcome bureaucratic obstacles with institutions like Dignitas, and achieve your goal. There is no visa problem, it is free to die, as long as you follow the procedure. Here are the subtleties of Swiss-style sustainability that makes use of even dead tourists.
I leave Geneva and go down to another level of tourism, İGA. A complete contrast to Switzerland: Infinite flexibility, fast service, astonishingly expensive. (I think those who say "Zurich is the worst place in the world" are wrong; Istanbul Airport has already taken that title.) The boards here do not set rules, they promise a passport to the real estate buyer. Your next destination is St. Petersburg with real estate prices. Overtaking St. Tropez is Bodrum. My advice for you to endure the concrete faces of paradise bays, wild pigs on the streets, and a new species that thinks licking caviar on a Rolex is fun: A blood pressure medicine. If you say "I can't stand it", follow the Turkish tourists who cannot afford their own country. The mood of this crowd, who rushes to vacation on the Greek islands for half the price at the expense of having to wait for a visa, is partly cloudy: They are offended that they lost their kitchen to their neighbors, and they are happy that they were not robbed. Fortunately, we also have trump cards that the neighbor cannot cover. Even though we cannot brand our baklava, the operating rooms are ours! Our planes are full of “Turkish Hairlines”: strangers with bandaged heads, chalky white teeth, tense faces. Our country is a global aesthetics factory that sends tourists off with tension.
SPANISH IN REBELLION
Let Switzerland say care, order and sustainability, let Türkiye constantly change shape. The Spanish are in rebellion. They greeted the tourists with water guns in their hands, shouting "Go home!" welcomes them with slogans. In Barcelona, which has turned into the retirement paradise of Western Europe, people cannot even become tenants in their own neighborhood due to increasing housing prices. Result: They decided to revoke their Airbnb license, saying “This is unsustainable.” Come on, good one.
After all the places I've spent my summers in, I've really come to see global tourism as a shared apartment. Each country is a different resident in this apartment; each person's view of the tourist; They are a mirror of his own economic desperation, flexibility and legal limits. Switzerland: That rich gentleman who turns even unimaginable opportunities into capital, but who beats walls with a cane if there is noise. Spain: A troubled property owner who rents his house to a rich relative and ends up on the street. Türkiye: That cunning and flexible real estate agent who is even inclined to sell his apartment if it gets a good price.
I don't know if Switzerland's tourism campaigns work. In my opinion, sustainable tourism; To protect the peace, nature and living space of its people while attracting tourists. It means hosting its guests without bowing to the demands of capital and without reducing the sustenance of its own children. Those who cannot do this will one day either kidnap a tourist with a water gun or lose a local tourist to a neighbor.
