A year after the canton of Ticino adopted Switzerland’s only burka ban, the fallout from that decision is much less than feared –with no let-up in tourism from Arab countries.
There has even been a slight increase in guests from Arab countries – up nearly 2% for 2016 from the previous year – per Ticino’s tourismexternal link figures. And few people wear a burka in the canton, tourism officials noted; Arab tourists make up just 2% of overall guests there.
The police had rare occasion to enforce the ban. For the year, they had only seven complaints about “veiling in the public area”, the cantonal government’s general secretary, Luca Filippini, told German news agency DPA.
There were fewer than a dozen instances in which veiled women in Lugano and Mendrisio were asked to conform to the measures. [swissinfo.ch] Read more
