Covid-19: Swiss tourism sector to suffer until 2023-2024
Tourism officials are anxiously observing the upcoming winter season, which typically brings in around CHF2 billion ($2.2 billion) a year.
Keystone / Anthony Anex
Switzerland’s hard-hit tourism sector is set to continue to suffer due to the new coronavirus for another three or four years, according to a government official.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/sb
Русский
ru
Швейцарский туризм не выйдет из кризиса до 2024 года
“We do not expect a full recovery [of the tourism sector] until 2023 or 2024,” Erik Jakob, of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), told reporters in Bern on Friday.
Jakob described a “historic decline in overnight stays in Switzerland” in 2020 and huge differences in tourism between cities and mountain regions.
Urban tourism is suffering most, he said, with a drop in sales of up to 60%. But certain tourist regions, such as cantons Valais, Ticino and Graubünden, benefited from numerous domestic guests in summer to ease the pain.
Earlier this month the Federal Statistical Office reported a 15.6% increase in the number of overnight stays by domestic visitors in August, compared to last year. This mitigated the persistent desertion of guests from abroad (down 60.3%).
Tourism officials are meanwhile anxiously observing the upcoming winter season, which typically brings in around CHF2 billion ($2.2 billion) a year. Switzerland Tourism is due to give a presentation on the winter season and special Covid-19 protection plans on November 13.
Overall, the government predicts Swiss economic output to shrink by 3.8% this year, not as bad a coronavirus-triggered slump as previously expected.
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
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.
Read more
More
Industry signals relief at Swiss anti-coronavirus measures
This content was published on
Numbers of infected people have risen sharply in recent weeks, prompting the federal authorities to intervene once again on Sunday. But the new measures have fallen well short of the lockdown that was imposed on households and business earlier in the year. The government has tightened the rules on mask wearing, contained private gatherings without…
Domestic guests ease pain for Swiss hotels in August
This content was published on
The gradual recovery of the Swiss hotel industry stalled in August, with occupancy declining by 28.1% year-on-year to 3.2 million overnight stays.
Swiss tourism industry demands new Covid-19 quarantine regime
This content was published on
Tourism officials want foreign vistors from risky corona nations to be able to travel to Switzerland with negative corona tests and avoid quarantine.
Parliament clarifies federal government powers to manage Covid-19 crisis
This content was published on
Measures put in place by the federal government to help manage the coronavirus crisis can be officially extended thanks to a decision by parliament.
Sustainable tourism may prosper amid coronavirus crisis
This content was published on
Aurelia Kogler, a professor of tourism, sees the Covid-19 crisis as opportunity for a more sustainable form of leisure travel to take hold.
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.