Swiss tourism on the upswing: higher overnight stays despite uncertainties!

Swiss tourism on the upswing: higher overnight stays despite uncertainties!

Swiss tourism shows positive growth tendencies at short notice and could continue to gain driving in the coming years. The forecast for the summer of 2024 speaks from an increase in overnight stays by 2% to a total of 24.9 million logging nights. This increase will be inspired by major international events such as the European women's football championship and the Federal Gymnastics Festival in Lausanne. Furthermore, a high level of employment and recovery of real wages support domestic demand, which benefits the tourism sector.

For the summer of 2025, a moderate increase in the logging nights by Swiss guests is forecast by 1.4%, which corresponds to 157,000 additional overnight stays. The demand from the European markets is also said to rise slightly, specifically by 0.8% and thus around 54,000 logging nights. The fact that demand from the USA remains stable is particularly gratifying with growth of 4.2% and 279,000 logging nights. However, despite these positive prospects, there are also long -term uncertainties that could come to Swiss tourism from the winter season.

long -term uncertainties and challenges

A major uncertainty factor is the US trade policy agenda, which could possibly have negative effects on the tourism sector. The German inquiries, on the other hand, could support Swiss tourism because German tourists represent the largest customer group in Swiss tourism.

However, falling demand from the USA could be comparable to a decline during the 2008 financial crisis, which makes the situation critical. In connection with the uncertain global economic situation, there are also fears that visa allocation for Chinese tourists could influence demand. It also remains unclear how group travel traffic from China will develop, which is also the focus of the tourism industry.

Review of the 2008 financial crisis

The uncertainties in the current environment inevitably lead to a look back at the financial crisis, which took its outcome exactly 17 years ago. The collapse of the Bank Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008 resulted in a global financial and economic crisis, which also did not leave Switzerland untouched. The Swiss banking sector was severely affected, especially UBS and Credit Suisse, which suffered significantly from the subprime crisis. However, the Swiss economy was relatively lightly out of the crisis compared to other countries.

The financial crisis led to a decay of the dollar and a euro crisis, which resulted in the upgrading of the Swiss franc, while export prices rose immeasurably. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) reacted in 2011 with a minimum change course of CHF 1.20 per euro, which it gave up again in 2015. During this time, the SNB interventions stabilized the profit margins of the Swiss export companies.

Overall, Switzerland was able to master the crisis without an accumulation of debt, which was favored by solid economic sectors and low government spending. In the past ten years, debt has been reduced, and the state coffers have remained in good condition despite the serious challenges.

The teachings from the financial crisis should give Switzerland a valuable perspective for current and future developments in the tourism sector, which are in a constant area of ​​tension between opportunities and challenges.