Swiss fitness industry back above pre-corona level
Published: Tuesday, Jun 11th 2024, 10:20
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Whether on the treadmill, in a Zumba class or on the weight bench: people in Switzerland spend a lot of time in fitness centers. On average, they go to the gym 1.3 times a week, according to a survey by the industry association Swiss Active.
Last year, more than 1.3 million people worked out in one of the 1348 fitness studios in Switzerland. That's around 15 percent of the total population. In other words, almost one in seven people in Switzerland has a fitness subscription.
Although the trend towards a healthy lifestyle already existed before the coronavirus crisis, the crisis, combined with the inevitable lack of exercise, has reinforced this trend, according to the study on the fitness market published on Tuesday. The number of members in a fitness business in 2023 was 13% higher than in the previous year and thus already above the level before the coronavirus pandemic, after the recovery had already begun in the previous year.
Only one in five studios below pre-Corona level
However, the recovery is not yet evident in all businesses. According to the association, more than 80% of Swiss fitness centers said they had already returned to the 2019 membership level. "This puts Switzerland ahead of Germany and Austria, where around two thirds of businesses achieved this in the year under review," the report states.
As membership numbers rose, so did the turnover of fitness studios, which increased by almost 18% to CHF 1.2 billion. The fact that turnover increased more than the number of members is probably due not least to higher prices. According to the report, almost every second business adjusted its membership fees last year.
According to Swiss Active, a subscription costs around CHF 1,000 on average. Fitness chains are slightly cheaper (CHF 900), while subscriptions to individual studios (CHF 1120) and micro studios (CHF 1320) cost slightly more on average.
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