The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has released initial estimates showing that overnight stays in August in Swiss hotels increased by 1.9%. The increase was primarily due to foreign tourists, who generated 9.3% more overnight stays than during the same month last year.
However, Swiss guests booked fewer stays, declining 5.6% according to FSO's preliminary figures.
Swiss Hotels Are on Course for a Record
The Swiss hotel industry is doing exceptionally well this year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the industry recorded 24.2 million overnight stays from January to July, indicating a 3.5 percent increase compared to 2019. Moreover, the figures for August are expected to be higher than in the previous year.
Despite this impressive performance, the Swiss Tourism Association believes that setting a record in 2023 is unlikely due to the ongoing pandemic. "We can no longer expect to break Swiss guest records in these trying times," said Switzerland Tourism Director Martin Nydegger.
The Swiss Are Traveling abroad Again
Nydegger explained that the competition in the south and by the seaside regions is back and in demand due to the decrease in the proportion of Swiss guests. However, the recovery from Europe and overseas is still expected to be much slower.
Nydegger assumes that foreign visitors will not be sufficient to offset the loss of Swiss tourists throughout the current year. As a result, the overnight stay record of 2019 remains beyond reach. If Switzerland Tourism's predictions are accurate, the number of overnight stays in autumn and winter in Swiss hotels will be lower than in 2019.