TOURISM • Bollywood And Pastures

Indian tourists have nothing to do brochures or billboards touting the beauty of Switzerland: a good Old Bollywood Movie only to them! Already in 1964, a film by the great Raj Kapoor's "Sangam", features a honeymoon that takes place in Switzerland. But it is only the last fifteen years that Indian filmmakers, one after the other, raise their tripods between Geneva, Engelberg and Jungfrau. Initially, wooden chalets should only be used as substitute to the peaks of Kashmir region of northern India where fighting between separatists and security forces prevented any filming. But they eventually fall in love with pastures, which represent the same stereotype of a West fantasized: clean, modern and beautiful.

 A perfect setting for dances compass and romantic idylls heroes of Hindi Film, as shown by the first successful shot in 1995 in Switzerland, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge ("The lover takes the Bride"), directed by Aditya Chopra. A Swiss lake was even renamed Lake Chopra!

Since the high Bernese pastures are filled each year far outnumber the local teams tens Indian crew, says the Swiss Info site. Will contribute to the development of tourism circuits for an Indian middle class booming. Thus, the studio Yash Raj Films (YRF) has partnered with an Indian tour operator to offer the "enchanted journey YRF" which takes visitors to the scene of some of the cult movies of the studio. They still account for only 2% of annual overnight stays, "the potential is enormous," welcomes La Tribune de Genève. "Since 1993, their number has increased fivefold. And the Indians, like the Chinese, with 300 francs [Swiss] per day per person, spend significantly more than the average visitor, which is 174 francs, "says the daily. And to stay in the race against Austria, which itself also tries to capture the Indian tourists in Switzerland now offers seminars.