National economy Tourism spending rises to record levels
In Switzerland, revenue from foreign guests rose again last year. And the Swiss also spent more money on trips abroad. In both cases, the previous records from the pre-corona period were surpassed.
28.06.2024, 08:52
28.06.2024, 09:25
SDA
Visitors to Switzerland generated income of 18.4 billion Swiss francs in 2023, according to the tourism balance sheet published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Friday. This corresponds to an increase of 12 percent. The Swiss resident population in turn spent 20.2 billion francs on foreign travel. This figure also increased by 12 percent.
This means that both tourism expenditure in Switzerland and that of Swiss citizens abroad have climbed to new records. The previous records were CHF 18.0 billion and CHF 18.8 billion respectively.
According to initial FSO estimates, the tourism balance last year amounted to -1.8 billion francs. In the previous year, the deficit was 1.7 billion. This means that the Swiss again spent significantly more money on trips abroad than foreign guests did in Switzerland.
More foreign guests
According to the FSO, the number of foreign guests in Switzerland continued to grow in 2023. They generated more overnight stays, particularly in hotels in higher price categories. This is also reflected in the increase in income from overnight stays in hotels and parahotels as well as own vacation accommodation.
The FSO also observed increases in hospital and study stays. The latter rose due to the higher number of university registrations from people living abroad. Income from trips with overnight stays increased by 19 percent.
According to the figures, however, income from trips without overnight stays fell (-3.8%). While consumer spending from day trips and transit traffic fell by 13%, spending by foreigners with cross-border commuter or short-stay status increased again (+5.4%).
Swiss tourists eager to spend
The Swiss population was also keen to travel last year. According to the FSO, their spending on overnight trips increased by almost 17%. The Swiss spent CHF 15.1 billion on trips abroad with overnight stays. This corresponded to around three quarters of total expenditure in the tourism sector.
Meanwhile, shopping tourism remained stable. In 2023, expenditure on travel without overnight stays amounted to CHF 5.1 billion.
