Portuguese in Switzerland promote tourism through products

The secretary of state for Portuguese Communities on Thursday said how the community in Switzerland helps to boost national tourism, by showing the Swiss the best that Portugal has, such as gastronomy.

Berta Nunes was speaking to Lusa from Bern, on the fifth day of a visit to Switzerland, where she is until Saturday, during which she has met with the Portuguese community in that country, comprising about 260,000 citizens.

At the end of a meeting with the secretary of state for Migrations, Mário Gattiker, Berta Nunes welcomed the way he referred to the Portuguese community in Switzerland.

“Successful, which does not give problems and is therefore very much appreciated.”

Berta Nunes stressed that some of the Portuguese businessmen she contacted showed interest in investing in Portugal.

She pointed out the enormous potential of Portuguese businessmen in Switzerland, both for the promotion of Portugal and in the restaurant business.

And gave the example of a restaurant she visited on Wednesday, owned by Júlio da Silva, a Portuguese person from Amarante, who has been an ambassador of Portuguese culture and, in particular, of his land in the district of Porto.

The businessman has a great connection to Portugal, goes almost every month to Portugal, buys products in Portugal and takes Swiss to visit Amarante, his homeland, she said.

In this regard, she said that communities are also important and catering businessmen to publicise Portuguese gastronomy, Portuguese products and even leverage tourism because every month (this Portuguese businessman living in Switzerland) goes to Portugal and very often takes Portuguese people to visit Portugal.

In addition to these examples of the many success stories she found, Berta Nunes also identified problems, such as in the teaching of Portuguese, which she promised to register to help.

Berta Nunes met with parents’ associations, teachers and the Coordination of Portuguese Teaching in Switzerland, which gave them a general overview of the teaching of Portuguese and of some obstacles in the education system that some Portuguese families have mentioned.

She also had contact with Portuguese doctors and health professionals in Switzerland, who have had an important role in supporting the community and identifying some situations that the Portuguese government will monitor.

Berta Nunes’ agenda for Thursday also includes a visit to the Consular Section of the Embassy in Bern, to a company in Pfäffikon and a speech during the presentation of the Global Diaspora Network, of the AEP Foundation, at Switzerland Global Enterprise, in Zurich.