Domestic tourism also registered a rise with 17.7 million stays by Swiss guests – up 2.7% on the previous year – Switzerland TourismExternal link said at its annual press conference on Tuesday.
It also welcomed the 3.7% increase in European guests but added that in mountain regions this figure was still down 43% on 2008. The Swiss tourism industry had been hit hard by the strong franc, which made holidays in Switzerland more expensive for Europeans.
Despite that, German tourists remained the largest market, followed by the United States. In 2018 alone, visitors from the US made more than two million overnight stays in Switzerland, up 10% on 2017. The number of guests from Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) and India also grew by around 10%.
Brexit uncertainty didn’t prevent the number of British overnights increasing by 2.3%.
Switzerland Tourism said it was optimistic for 2019, expecting the positive trend from Europe to continue and continued demand from regulars India, China, the US and Australia.
However, the industry association stressed the need for “massive” marketing efforts and called for more state money. The government has proposed giving Switzerland Tourism CHF55 million ($55 million) a year for the next legislative period, but the tourism body wants parliament to bump this up to CHF60 million. State funds make up 56% of the association’s budget.
More
More
How Queen Victoria transformed the Swiss tourism industry
This content was published on
Exactly 150 years ago, Queen Victoria and a small entourage headed to central Switzerland for a five-week getaway.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Powder permitted to help with holes in Emmental cheese
This content was published on
The Federal Administrative Court has authorised the use of hay flower powder in the production of Emmental cheese with a protected designation of origin.
Estates of Schwarzenbach and Maillart honoured by UNESCO
This content was published on
The estates of Swiss writers Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908-1942) and Ella Maillart (1903-1997) are to be included in the Memory of the World Register.
Novartis announces billion-dollar investments in the US
This content was published on
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis plans to invest a total of $23 billion in the US over the next five years to expand production and research.
Money laundering and paedophile crime increase in Switzerland
This content was published on
The number of suspected cases of money laundering, reports of threats against officers and cases of paedophile crime increased last year, in some cases sharply.
Toblerone invests in Bern and puts new emphasis on Swiss cross
This content was published on
Since US multinational Mondelēz relocated part of Toblerone production to Slovakia in 2023, the company is no longer allowed to call its chocolate “Swiss made”.
Switzerland and 35 other members declare support for WTO
This content was published on
Switzerland and 35 other members have recommitted themselves to honouring the rules of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO).
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.
Read more
More
The Swiss village that wants to become a hotel
This content was published on
Only 12 inhabitants now live in the village of Corippo in southern Switzerland. To survive, it is becoming a hotel resort.
This content was published on
Overnight stays in Swiss Alpine resorts have increased for four consecutive seasons, with summer destinations doing better than winter destinations.
The winners and losers of Switzerland’s Airbnb boom
This content was published on
The number of people renting Airbnb accommodation in Switzerland has tripled in the last three years to reach more than 900,000 guests,
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
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.