The splendid glacier, lakes and magnificent beauty of Switzerland has always been captivating. Now, the charm of scenic beauty has been proved as India chose Switzerland, as its favorite foreign destination. The voting that was conducted by Lonely Planet, was a part of the maiden travel awards.

Lonely Planet Travel Awards celebrate the best travel experiences available to Indians, and anoint the best service providers, the preferred places to stay and the destinations Indians most love to visit. The winners were chosen by readers for the benefit of other readers. Voting was conducted across 39 categories through a reader poll through online and the magazine.

Switzerland Tourism in India chalked up a very successful 2011 in spite of the economic slowdown. There was growth by 20.3 % in total overnights from India which resulted in total of 4,56,930 overnights spent by Indians in Switzerland. Swiss Tourism registered splendid growth of 100% over last five years with a consolidated total of 1.55m overnights spent by Indians, making it one of the most favoured destinations globally by Indians.

through aggressive marketing to travellers across age groups and active participation by new partners such as Engadin St. Moritz and the magnificent Glacier Express & Bernina Express Switzerland Tourism has targeted a further 20% growth in overnights spent by Indians in Switzerland for 2012. With the theme of Water, the focus will be on promoting its idyllic and scenic lakes, snow, and glaciers along with mountains and cities.

Ms Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism India said, “The recognition reflects our commitment to the India and its travellers. Lonely Planet is one of the most famous names in the travel segment and we are honoured to get this award. India is a very important market for us. Last year the Swiss Government, realising the importance of Indian tourists, had allocated an extra marketing budget for India. After observing the immense success of this campaign, similar additional budget has been allocated this year as well.”

Celebrating its famous glaciers, lakes, and rivers, Switzerland Tourism has dedicated 2012 to the ‘Year of Water.’ It has undertaken various new initiatives and campaigns to promote the famous lakes and glaciers of Switzerland in India.

Switzerland Tourism is now looking forward to undertake varied marketing activities for 2012 ranging from consumer reach out programmes, advertising campaigns including TVCs on leading channels to training programs for travel agents in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. All these marketing initiatives will focus on the fact that not only is Switzerland a perfect destination for family holidays and honeymooners but also for other segments such as seniors holidays, gourmet holidays and adventure holidays.