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The Swiss will continue to travel abroad this year, but their choices are being guided by economic, geopolitical and sporting factors. Spain, Greece and the United States are in demand – unlike Egypt and Tunisia.
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Travel group TUI Suisse said it was expecting a boom in reservations for Spanish beaches, especially the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
In a statement released on Thursday by the Swiss Travel Association, TUI Suisse said these destinations were benefiting from the collapse in reservations in Egypt and Tunisia, rocked by political uncertainty.
Hotelplan Suisse said it had decided to reduce the number of flights and hotel capacities in those two countries and Turkey. It added it was seeing keen interest in Scandinavia, with exchange rates currently favourable for Swiss tourists.
Beyond the traditionally popular sea resorts, “sailboat cruises along the Croatian coast, tours around Colombia and safaris in Namibia were still attracting clients”, according to Kuoni spokesman Marcel Schlatter.
North America was seeing growing popularity, with Kuoni reporting strong demand for the United States and TUI Suisse saying the same about Canada. Reasons given for this trend were favourable exchange rates and convenient flights.
Globetrotter Travel Services, which has around 20 branches in Switzerland, said South America was a popular destination thanks to the Olympic Games in Rio in August. As an official partner of Swiss Olympic, it said many clients were combining their stay in Rio with a tour.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.