Juerg Schmid, head of Switzerland's tourism body, said Tuesday the free-trade accord between Japan and his country that took effect last month will hopefully fuel a surge in business travelers.
Schmid told a news conference in Tokyo that bilateral business relations will be more active due to the FTA.
Currently, most Japanese who travel to Switzerland go there for leisure, not business.
"More business means more travelers, especially business travelers," so a positive impact can be expected from the FTA, Schmid said.
He acknowledged that the last two years have seen a decline in Japanese traveling abroad, so boosting their numbers will be a tall order.
The tendency has been felt in Switzerland, where there were 493,901 overnight stays by Japanese in 2008, compared with 554,861 in 2007 and 594,951 in 2006.
"The Japanese outbound market has been a challenging market for all players in tourism," Schmid said, adding that Japanese overseas travelers have recently tended to visit places closer to home, such as South Korea.
The FTA took effect Sept. 1.