A tourist test for Switzerland, Turkey and Spain

When expatriate Turks began traveling from Switzerland to Turkey this summer, Zurich and Geneva were already full of tourists. Visitors encountered more than billboards advertising watches. Switzerland’s tourism authorities also promoted “Travel with Care,” alongside the “Swisstainable” campaign and a survival guide advising tourists not to speak loudly, take photographs without permission or leave marked paths.

The rules extend beyond etiquette. Covering the face is prohibited, with a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs. Even a wealthy visitor arriving at Geneva’s luxury shops must remove a face veil while walking around, the article notes with irony.

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Speak quietly, do not take photographs without permission, do not leave the path

Switzerland also occupies a rare niche in global tourism: assisted dying. Euthanasia is permitted under defined procedures. Applicants must demonstrate that the decision reflects their free will and work through bureaucratic requirements with organizations such as Dignitas. The article treats this as an especially stark example of Switzerland’s procedural approach.

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Go back home!

The tone shifts after the writer leaves Geneva for Istanbul Airport, described as the opposite of Switzerland: highly flexible, fast-moving and extraordinarily expensive. The article then turns to Bodrum, where construction has transformed secluded bays, wild boars roam the streets and luxury tourism sits alongside medical tourism. Turkish flights are jokingly renamed “Turkish Hairlines” because of the bandaged heads, bright teeth and tightened faces of foreign patients returning from cosmetic procedures.

Spain offers another response to mass tourism. In Barcelona, residents have protested rising housing costs with water pistols and demands that tourists go home. As the city becomes a retirement destination for Western Europe, some residents say they can no longer afford to rent in their own neighborhoods. Authorities have decided to cancel Airbnb licenses, declaring the situation unsustainable.

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This is unsustainable