Swiss hotels well on the way to an all-time record
Published: Friday, Nov 3rd 2023, 10:50
Updated At: Saturday, Nov 4th 2023, 00:54
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The Swiss hotel industry experienced a golden autumn in September. Overnight stays rose by 7.5 percent to 4.1 million. This means that the industry is heading for an all-time record after the glorious summer.
Once again, the increase is mainly due to foreign tourists. They accounted for 15.1 percent more overnight stays than in the same month last year, as the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) announced on Friday based on provisional results.
There were a total of 2 million overnight stays by guests from abroad in September. This is practically the same number as in the last pre-coronavirus year 2019, meaning that demand from foreigners has recovered from the slump caused by the pandemic. However, there were massive shifts in the individual countries of origin.
Americans overtake Germans
Of the most important guest groups, the Americans once again recorded a sharp increase (+21.9%), overtaking the Germans as the number one, whose bookings fell by 1.1%. There were also double-digit increases among the French and Canadians.
In contrast, the number of tourists from China and India is still far from being out of the corona hole. In September, the Chinese did not even book half as many overnight stays as in 2019, when they were still the fourth most important guest group. The Indians are still a quarter short of the previous level.
On the other hand, locals remained loyal: Swiss guests also slept more frequently in local hotel beds in September. The increase here was only 1.0% compared to September last year. However, compared to the record year of 2019, Swiss hotels recorded over a fifth more overnight stays by domestic guests.
40 million mark could fall
A total of 32.9 million overnight stays were recorded from January to September. That is 9.9 percent more than a year ago.
This means that Swiss hotels are still on track to break the all-time record from the last pre-coronavirus year 2019. Back then, there were 39.6 million overnight stays.
In the first nine months, the lead over the record year is 4.1%. If another 8 million overnight stays are recorded by the end of December, as in 2019, the 40 million overnight stays mark will be broken in one year for the first time this year.
Looking at the individual tourism regions, Bern (+8.6%), Eastern Switzerland (+7.8%) and Ticino (+7.4%) have the biggest lead over the previous record year of 2019.
Meanwhile, the declines remain within narrow limits: In contrast, the regions of Vaud (-2.7%), Basel (-1.4%) and Lucerne/Lake Lucerne (-0.6%) recorded a slight decline.
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