Swiss travel almost as much as before Covid-19 pandemic

Italy was the most popular foreign destination for Swiss travellers last year. A view of the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore south of Asciano in central Italy. Keystone / Fabio Muzzi

Last year, each Swiss resident made on average 2.6 overnight trips and 8 day trips. This represented an overall increase of 30% compared to 2021. The annual total (21.1 million trips) is almost the same as just before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Thursday.

The number of trips with overnight stays increased in most segments of the population last year. Men, people over 65 and those living in German-speaking Switzerland were particularly keen travellers.

Residents of German-speaking Switzerland travelled more frequently (three trips per person) than those in French- (1.9) and Italian-speaking (1.4) regions. 

In all, 40% of trips including overnight stays and 92% of day trips were in Switzerland.

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As before the pandemic, the most popular foreign destination was Italy (13% of total), followed by Germany (10%) and France (8%). A quarter of all other trips were to another European country. 

The total number of foreign trips with overnight stays rose from 7.2 million to 12.5 million between 2021 and 2022. But this was still well below the pre-Corona level of 14.1 million.

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Holidays and relaxing were the main reasons for overnight trips. Almost a quarter of visits were to relatives or acquaintances, while business trips accounted for only 4% of overnight stays in 2022.

As in previous years, most foreign visits last year comprised four or more overnight stays (74%). 

Most trips with overnight stays were made using privately owned vehicles. Public transport was only used for one-third of trips in Switzerland. Journeys by plane rose by more than two-thirds compared to the previous year and accounted for 37% of all foreign trips with overnight stays. 

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