"That blows my mind" US influencer celebrates Swiss petrol station - and he's not alone

US influencer Colin Smith is enthusiastic about Switzerland - especially its petrol stations and fountains. He is not alone in his fascination: according to the Federal Statistical Office, the country recorded a new visitor record in 2025.

US influencer Colin Smith is currently spending his vacation in Switzerland. On Instagram, he enthusiastically shares with his followers what he is discovering here - and what is not available in his home country of America.

For example, he is extremely happy about the petrol stations in this country: "We stopped at a petrol station in Switzerland. It blows my mind," he says to the camera, hardly able to stop marveling.

"They have fresh vegetables from the region. Look at that," says Smith in surprise. "They have pasta. I got sushi and a chicken. Look at this: Fruit! Imagine if we had that in America. Nobody would ever be fat," he concludes.

"All great until you see the price of a bottle of water," notes one user in the comments. "Anywhere is better than America. Nice how they look after their people," says another user.

It's not just the petrol station that impresses Smith, but also the freely accessible fountains in Zurich. "I saw a group of people coming to this fountain and drinking water from it," says Smith, also taking a sip of the water.

In response to Smith's reaction, a user writes below the video: "We have clean water here, it's all good bro - we're not in America." Another adds: "Bro, I was just there - the water is really great."

"Switzerland has grown in popularity"

Colin Smith is not the only influencer currently on vacation in Switzerland. Videos of content creators visiting the Christmas market on Zurich's Sechseläutenplatz or at the main railway station, for example, are piling up on social media.

Numerous influencers were already drawn to Switzerland in the summer. They shared videos of hikes through the impressive Alps or swimming in deep blue lakes on their social media channels.

"Switzerland has grown in popularity as a vacation and travel destination," wrote a spokeswoman for Switzerland Tourism in mid-August in response to an inquiry from blue News. "This is confirmed by the number of overnight hotel stays recorded by the Federal Statistical Office," she continued.

However, this includes not only guests from abroad, but also locals. "The increase since the pandemic has been particularly strong among domestic guests, who account for almost 50 percent of all hotel overnight stays," says the spokesperson.

Third record number of visitors in a row for the hotel industry

As announced by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday, the Swiss hotel industry recorded its third record number of visitors in a row in the 2025 summer season.

A total of 25.1 million overnight stays were recorded in the 2025 summer season (May to October). An increase of 2.6 percent compared to the previous year. According to the Bfs, the 25 million mark was exceeded for the first time.

The number of overnight stays from abroad rose by 2.4% to a record 13.4 million. Growth was particularly strong among American guests: with a total of 3.1 million overnight stays, the previous summer record was surpassed.

With 2.5 million overnight stays, guests from the USA accounted for the largest share of foreign demand - an increase of 3.1 percent and the highest level since 1985.

More and more people from Europe also traveled to Switzerland. European demand grew to 6.9 million overnight stays. This was last achieved in 2013. The Swiss also traveled more frequently in their own country: the number of domestic overnight stays rose by 2.8% to 11.7 million.