Travel fever in Switzerland: This is how the professionals are planning for 2025!

Travel fever in Switzerland: This is how the professionals are planning for 2025!

A recent survey among Swiss travel professionals, published by TRAVEL INSIDE, shows a clear preference of the Swiss population regarding their travel habits and destinations for the year 2025. The results provide interesting insights into the most popular travel times and the booking behavior of holidaymakers.

The survey found that summer is the preferred travel period at 43%, followed by autumn at 32%. Spring and winter play a smaller role in the travel plans of the Swiss, at only 16% and 9% respectively. When it comes to travel destinations for 2023, a large proportion of travelers are targeting the Mediterranean (38%) and overseas (35%). The European North and Switzerland itself are also popular options at 11% each, while cruises are less popular at 5%.

Booking behavior and travel habits

Booking behavior is also revealing: 73.5% of respondents book their trips more than 90 days in advance. Of these, 43.5% book between 90 and 180 days before departure, while 30% even plan more than 180 days in advance. Only a small proportion, 17%, choose to book less than 90 days before departure; This includes 9% who book less than 45 days in advance. Last minute bookings are extremely rare at 0.5%.

Overall, the Swiss population is fond of travel. In 2023, each person in Switzerland took an average of 2.9 trips, resulting in almost 24 million trips in total. Day trips and short trips are particularly popular, with an increase to 76.4 million day trips compared to 64.4 million in the previous year.

Popular travel destinations and motivations

Domestic remains the most common destination, with approximately 8.4 million overnight trips. When it comes to foreign trips, Germany and Italy dominate with around 2.8 million and 2.7 million overnight trips respectively. In total, around 15.2 million overnight trips abroad were made, which represents a significant increase compared to the previous year.

Recreation has emerged as the most important travel motive, which applies to domestic, international and day trips. In addition, many Swiss see local recreation as more attractive than shorter flights or cruises.

Booking trends

The trend towards direct booking is clear: 68% of Swiss book their holiday organization directly with the provider. Only 31% use online platforms and 19% book offline with a travel agency. Online bookings, especially via booking portals, are becoming increasingly important. Booking.com leads the way in accommodation, while Ebookers and Aldi Suisse Tours are ahead when it comes to package tours. Interestingly, the number of traditional travel agencies and operators in Switzerland has fallen to around 1,981.

These developments in Swiss travel behavior not only reflect preferences for certain travel times and destinations, but also show how the way travel is booked is changing. The year 2025 promises exciting changes in the tourism sector.