Switzerland one of four tourism ‘losers’ in 2016

More Swiss are 'staycationing' in their home country Keystone

Switzerland is one of four European countries that lost ground last year in terms of the numbers of tourists staying overnight at hotels.

Some 35.4 million tourists stayed in Swiss hotels in 2016, down 0.5% from the year before, according to figures released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, which does not include Switzerland.

The figures for hotel stays show that the lost numbers of non-resident tourists, which fell 1.9% on the year, were partially offset by the gain in numbers of resident Swiss tourists, which rose 1.2%.

The number of European tourists staying in Swiss hotels has fallen partly in response to the strength of the Swiss currency. The European economy’s weakness and currency fluctuations that have a negative impact on business confidence also have not helped Swiss tourism.

Three other countries in Europe also had setbacks in hotel overnight stays: France (-4.6%), Malta (-0.8%) and the United Kingdom (-4.5%).

For the EU as a bloc, more than 2.8 billion tourists stayed overnight in hotels, up 2% from the year earlier.