A casual Christmas gathering for the trade revealed a surprise gift for Switzerland Tourism Friday as the Canadian director Pascal Prinz was able to impart the news that a short-lived quarantine measure for visitors, including Canadians, had been lifted after only three days.

Fully vaccinated visitors will now require a negative PCR test to enter the country, and second PCR or antigen test, four to seven days after arrival, but it’s a much more palatable alternative to quarantine for travellers, said Prinz.

“It’s good news. It shows we take COVID (and the new Omicron variant) seriously, but it’s smart – we’re not where we were two years ago (when restrictions were more severe),” he added.

With event partners the Matterhorn Region – home to the famous mountain of the same name – delivering an enthusiastic live presentation via Zoom to the Toronto audience, a smiling Prinz said Switzerland Tourism was determined to be optimistic about travel prospects now and into 2022.

“It’s been a crazy year, but we’re not going to give up,” he said. “We’re going to stick together and get through this. For next year we’re optimistic. Canadians want to travel and Switzerland is an amazing destination for that.”

And to ensure that attendees left with a taste for the central European country, Prinz, proceeded to serve Switzerland’s famed Raclette cheese, heated under and a lamp and shaved onto a plate to serve with boiled potatoes.

Prinz joked that he has had plenty of time to practice the unique cheese shaving technique procedure at home during the pandemic, exclaiming, “I’m very popular with my neighbours.”