Switzerland’s Hijab ban- Can this affect its tourism if Muslims Boycott Switzerland ?
Have You heard of the Hijab ban in Switzerland ?If You are a Hijabi and You have a craze of Visiting Romantic Places,You need to cut down your favourite destination off the list.Switzerland is no more respecting the Hijabis. Hijabis are no more welcomed in Switzerland and Women wearing Islamic veils that cover their faces could be fined up to £6,500 in the Italian-speaking region of Ticino, Switzerland, under a new law that bans the use of such garments in public. The law went into effect on 24 November after more than 50% of people in Ticino voted in favour of a ban on face veils in public areas in 2013.
Tourists visiting Ticino will be communicated this warning at airports and by customs officers at the Italian border that it is illegal for people to wear Hijab.
This law is applicable on tourist too.Yes,People, including tourists, who defy the ban will be fined between 100 francs ($100, £65) and 10,000 francs ($10,000, £6,500.
It may be noted that France had already banned Hijab in 2010. Earlier, the penalty for violating this law in France was £35 which was increased to £150 later. It is important to mention that France has the largest Muslim population in Europe.
Don’t Worry,Switzerland is not a heaven and We will never leave our Hijab.But I can say that Switzerland’s tourism industry may suffer from the Hijab ban.According to a report,in 2011, 60 percent of the 765,000 visitors to the tourist site of Switzerland were from Asia.It is the tourist from Asia and Middle east who keep Switzerland busy.
Morever Tourists from Asia and the Middle East tend to spend more than their European counterparts. As well as trinkets like cow coffee mugs, shops in towns like Interlaken or Lucerne do a roaring trade in watches from Swatch Group and Richemont, with brands such as Cartier and Tissot.
While Germans and Italians spend 150 Swiss francs ($150) a day on average, visitors from the Gulf spend 500 francs a day, a study by tourism board MySwitzerland shows. Chinese average 350 francs in spending a day and Indians average 300 francs.
According to Swiss statistics office data,the percentage of gulf Visitors and Asian tourists making overnight hotel stays have increased.The Overnight hotel stays by Europeans slipped to 4.6 percent in May 2012 compared to Previous year stats, those by Asian tourists rose 8.3 percent, confirming the trend of previous months. Stays by mainland Chinese jumped 34 percent in May, those by Gulf visitors rose 22 percent and for Japanese they climbed 13 percent.
So,What do you think Who is going to lose? Time will show the stats but for now start hunting for alternatives to Switzerland.
May Allah Protect our Hijab and not let us fall in the momentary bliss of this Perishable World. If People say that crimes happen under the shield of hijab,it is no excuse to ban hijab because such crimes are just in fractions.If We go by the same calculation then all sorts of Masks,face Paints,Wigs,makeups everything should be banned.Because If you want to conceal your identity,you can do it in many Ways and Hijab is not the Sole Option.
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