What Swiss hotels can learn from their neighbours

Over the past ten years, the number of Swiss guests staying at German hotels has doubled. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

The continuing strength of the Swiss franc plays a role, with the Swiss getting more for their money in Germany and Austria. The accessibility of neighbouring countries and the fact that German is spoken are also a draw.

But there’s more to it than that. According to this report by Swiss public television, many Swiss hotels are missing the mark by failing to offer tailor made services, something their Germanic neighbours developed long ago. Swiss tourism bosses are urging hoteliers here to take more risks, and to put more energy into marketing.

While the Swiss are heading over the borders for their holidays, traffic in the other direction has decreased. Figures released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office in February 2014 show that last year, there were 52,000 fewer Germans staying in Swiss hotels compared with the previous year, a decline of 1.1%. Germans posted the largest absolute decline of all countries.