Behind the Headlines Wealthy Arabs Are Turning Geneva into a Mideast City

Geneva, the beautiful city on the Lake, home of the League of Nations and now European headquarters of the United Nations, has become the favorite haunt of wealthy Arabs, so much so that many tourists complain they don’t feel they are in Switzerland but in some Middle Eastern city.

The influx of sheikhs, princes and kings, mainly from the oil-producing Gulf states, is greeted with mixed feelings here. Many Genevans say they no longer feel at home in their native city. But merchants and bankers are delighted. The rich Arabs are lavish spenders. They squirrel away their money in numbered bank accounts and have opened a dozen Arab banks and some 50 financial institutions in Geneva.

They open other offices, send their children to Swiss private schools and try to buy villas. The latter is generally frowned upon. Switzerland has strict laws limiting the purchase of real estate by foreigners.

Nevertheless, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia owns three palaces in the country and Saudi Oil Minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani has a villa and an apartment. He spends more time in Geneva than in Riyadh.

Since 1973, the luxurious Geneva Intercontinental Hotel has catered exclusively for Arab guests. Its signs are in Arabic. The hotel staff and public relations department speak Arabic. An Egyptian chef prepares Middle Eastern cuisine. European and American tourists have stopped coming. They say that in Switzerland they expect a Swiss hotel.

The wave of Arab visitors has grown since the fighting in Lebanon put their mountain vacation retreats there out of bounds. In any event, the Alps are higher. A visitor to Geneva in July or August will see promenading along the lake front Arabs in their traditional kefiyas, followed by their veiled wives.