Inside the Swiss mountain resort that attracts thousands of Asian tourists

Zermatt in Switzerland is a bucket list destination for thousands of tourists from Asia and China in particular. The famous Matterhorn mountain attracts visitors all year around.

At 4478m the Matterhorn is the most photographed mountain in the world and is a major attraction to this alpine town. Most tourists want to see the Matterhorn from the ground but more holidaymakers choose to see it from the air.

‌Paragliding is a popular sport among Asian tourists in Zermatt. Julio Rivera Armijos, the head pilot at Flybypara, says that around 40 percent of his clients come from China and the other 40 percent come from the rest of Asia. And 20 percent come from Europe and the U.S..

‌Yee Von Teng is a law student from London. She is originally from Malaysia and is on a nine-day holiday to Switzerland. 

She was visiting Interlaken, another must-see destination in this country, where she tried paragliding for the first time in her life.

She fell in love with the experience and wanted to repeat it in Zermatt. Here she was hoping to see the Matterhorn up close from the air. 

Yee Von says she was inspired to do the flight after watching a popular Korean TV programme called "Crash landing on you".

‌On the day of her flight, conditions for paragliding were perfect, but it was cloudy in Gornergrat at 3000m. 

It is the highest paragliding takeoff point in Europe and many adventures jump from here and enjoy a panoramic view of the Alps. Yee Von was very excited about the flight.

Extreme sports is not the only attraction in Zermatt. Most tourists from Asia take the Gornergrat train, which takes about 45 minutes from Zermatt to reach the destination. 

The trains are quite often full with Asian tourists eager to enjoy the views. But whatever the weather, tourists enjoy the snow, the altitude and take memorable photographs.

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Asian tourists are also leaving their mark on Zermatt itself. There is a bridge in the centre of the village that is frequented by visitors who hope to catch the glimpse of the Matterhorn. 

The bridge has been dubbed "Asian bridge" by the locals.

‌Despite large numbers of tourists visiting the alpine village, the authorities here say the town is very well prepared. 

They say there are at least 20 hotels open even during the "off season" period in May and June and mountain trains and gondolas are very well equipped to manage the groups.

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