Martin Nydegger said concerns by the local population about too many tourists should be taken seriously. But the perception of overtourism was mistaken and potentially damaging.
He said notably Chinese and Indian guests were more noticeable in public, but they were outnumbered by tourists from Europe and the United States visiting Switzerland.
He also pointed out that the local tourist industry benefited from an increasing number of Asian tourists who helped compensate for the European guests staying away as a result of the Euro crisis in 2008.
“I don’t want to imagine a situation where this would not have been possible,” he told SRF public radio at the weekend.
Europe first
His comments came as political moves are underway to link state subsidies for tourism specifically to guests from Europe.
Notably Swiss mountain resorts have suffered a massive decline in the number of guests from neighbouring Germany over the past ten years.
A record number of Chinese tourists at some in sightseeing hotspots and a huge party of Indian guests at the mountain resort of St Moritz earlier this year caught media attention.
Switzerland TourismExternal link, which is mainly funded by the government, has announced it will launch a major marketing campaign next year to attract more European guests.
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Lucerne: overcrowded by tourists?
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Swiss tourism industry owes a debt to Indian actress Sridevi
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.