Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Overseas tourist numbers picked up during the summer

Guests at a hotel balcony overlooking mountains
Despite an increase in tourist numbers in the summer, hotels still face the effects of the pandemic. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Swiss hotels saw an increase of 80% more tourists from other countries during the summer months compared with the same period in 2020 when Switzerland was in lockdown.

Between the start of May and the end of October, overnight stays at hotels increased by more than a third, reaching 18.2 million. The increase was particularly significant in May and June because Switzerland had closed its borders to many countries during these months last year.

Overnight stays recorded by overseas tourists rose 78.8% this summer with numbers picking up considerably from Asia and the United States.

Domestic tourism, which had risen considerably last year, continued to see an upward trend, with 21% extra bookings at hotels by Swiss residents.

The uptick in numbers was felt particularly in big cities such as Geneva, Basel and Zurich.

But hotels continue to have a hard time compared to the pre-pandemic era. Overnight stays during the summer were down by nearly a fifth from 2019, with overseas guests recording 57% fewer bookings.

“Guests from Asia recorded a drop in overnight stays of 85.4%, those from America of 74.0% and visitors from Europe of 32.5%,” read a statementExternal link from the Federal Statistical Office on Monday.

Hotels are still not out of the woods as the pandemic reaches yet another wave of increased infections, combined with the arrival of the Omicron Covid variant.

Many hotels have reported a spate of cancellations as Omicron stirs up yet more uncertainty and worry.

The Swiss tourism sector is expected to take decade to recover from the pandemic.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR