A Swiss state of mind

The Swiss tourism industry, rattled by the Covid -19 pandemic, is plotting a hard-fought comeback beginning this winter

- VARUN GODINHO

According to figures shared by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, last year was a record for the Swiss hotel industry. It recorded 39.6 million overnight stays, up 1.9 per cent year-on-year. Foreign visitors accounted for 21.6 million of those stays, while Swiss nationals registered 17.9 million overnight stays at hotels across the country.

The Covid-19 pandemic has, expectedly, turned those numbers upside down. The government initially forecasted a 6.2 per cent contraction in the economy back in June, but subsequently revised that to -3.8 per cent in October, and a positive +3.8 per cent growth in GDP next year supported, of course, by its tourism industry (tourism-related gross value added to the Swiss economy in 2019 stood at CHF19.5bn).

Helping drive traffic from this region is Matthias Albrecht, GCC director for Switzerland Tourism, who says that latest figures show a decline of 40 per cent of overnight stays in the period from January- September 2020, most of that generated by a dip in international guests.