After several difficult years, the Swiss hotel industry is recovering.
Keystone
Switzerland’s tourism industry balance came in negative for the second consecutive year in 2017, according to official figures published on Thursday. Swiss citizens travelling abroad spent more than foreigners visiting the Alpine nation.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/ds
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said a strong Swiss franc continued to be a factor, although less so compared to the past couple of years.
It estimated a negative balance of CH122 million ($122 million) for 2017. Swiss citizens spent CHF16.1 billion while travelling abroad, 0.5% more than in 2016. Foreign tourists visiting Switzerland shelled out CHF16 billion, an increase of 1.6% compared to the previous year.
Overnight stays generated about two-thirds of the tourism income in Switzerland.
These figures confirmed that tourism revenues continued to cover in 2017, after a small rise in 2016. Tourism revenues took a hit in 2015, dropping by 3.4% after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned the floor rate with the euro.
The Swiss, meanwhile, are spending more and more abroad, despite the Swiss franc weakening during the second half of 2017.
More people switching to generic medicine in Switzerland
This content was published on
Measures to encourage more people in Switzerland to use generic medicine in place of brand name originals appear to be working.
Nature magazine: scientific breakthroughs in medicine and space travel in 2025
This content was published on
The science magazine Nature expects breakthroughs in mind-reading machines, new weight-loss drugs, and particle physics in 2025.
This content was published on
Swiss minister Karin Keller-Sutter wants to use Platform X to communicate with the population during her term as president in 2025.
Swiss Post delivers record number of parcels in pre-Christmas period
This content was published on
Swiss Post delivered a total of 22.3 million parcels between the Black Friday promotional week at the end of November and Christmas.
SWISS plane in Graz: employee still in intensive care
This content was published on
The cabin crew member of the SWISS Airbus A220 which made an emergency landing in Graz, Austria, on Monday is still in intensive care.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.