A final resting place, as long as professionals don't sprinkle you here

Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The head of Zermatt’s tourism office says the living don’t want to be hiking on the ashes of the dead and cantonal authorities agree: since 1 July companies that organize funeral services have been banned from sprinkling ashes in canton Valais. The change in the law came partly as a result of growing human ashes tourism from Germany, where dead bodies in any form must be buried in cemeteries. Companies in Valais had seen business grow, 20 Minutes reports, thanks to families wanting the ashes of their deceased sprinkled over the Swiss Alps.

Helicopter companies, according to the newspaper, continue to fly people over the Alps to sprinkle ashes, but the clients must be the ones to spread them.

Switzerland is just behind the Czech Republic for choosing cremation over burial, with cremation chosen 75 percent of the time. The French opt for cremation in 27 percent of cases and Italians 10 percent.

Swiss individuals and families are free to decide where they will put or spread the ashes.

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