Tourist industry reeling after terrorist attacks

The Swiss tourism industry has been hit hard by the events in the US Keystone Archive

Switzerland's tourist industry has been hit hard since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, which left some 7,000 people missing or dead. Bookings from North America have dropped by half and fewer Swiss are travelling abroad.

Tourists from North America are proving reluctant to travel to Switzerland, with bookings down 50 per cent. The same applies to business travellers from Asia, where 30 per cent of the trips have been cancelled.

Michel Ferla, vice president of Switzerland Tourism, told swissinfo that even though it is not high season at the moment the impact on the tourism industry has been severe.

“A lot of conferences have been cancelled, which has created huge problems for certain cities and resorts,” he said. Towns like Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne, Basel, Lausanne and Montreux are feeling the pinch of empty hotel beds, according to Ferla.

However, he says the drop in visitor numbers cannot be blamed solely on the terrorist attacks; the slackening global economy and the weak euro are also keeping travellers at home.

“This crisis has also slowed down the economy generally and consumers are less likely to spend,” he explained.

Arab tourists

Ferla said it was not possible to gauge whether tourists from Arab countries were staying at home because most travel abroad between July and September. “If they travel at this time of year, they mainly go on business trips, which normally takes them to London.”

Ferla added that the tourist industry was fortunate that the holiday season for Arab tourists was already over, because although Arab visitors account for just 250,000 overnight stays a year, they tend to spend lots of money.

“The 250,000 overnight visitors may seem like a small number in comparison with the 17 million that Switzerland attracts annually. But tourists from Arab countries are high quality customers, who stay in four and five star hotels.”

Swiss staying at home

The Swiss are also proving reluctant to travel abroad, with many cancelling their holidays. Most cancellations have been for trips to Florida or the Middle East, and Ferla is optimistic that the local tourist industry may benefit, because many Swiss might choose to holiday at home.

“We should not see any profit from this crisis. However, there might be a number of Europeans who stay closer to home or at home and that might have a positive impact on our industry,” he said.

swissinfo