The number of overnight stays increased by 2.6% during the summer season, according to figures published on Tuesday by the Centre for Economic Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (KOF).
The tourism industry registered more than 22 million overnight stays – making it clear that a record was set although the final tally is not in yet. This growth was driven by resident tourists, who clocked an increase of 3.2%, compared to 2.2% for visitors from abroad.
“People tend to split their holidays more and more, which means not necessarily going on holiday for a very long time in summer, but also staying in Switzerland and enjoying it for one or two weeks,” says Véronique Kanel, spokeswoman for Switzerland Tourism.
She also attributed the spike to weather conditions. The fact that it is relatively hot in summer attracts a lot of people along with the “development of the sports offer, especially in the mountains.”
A growing trend is people dividing up their holiday time. Instead of going on a long summer leave, they will stay put and enjoy what Switzerland has to offer for a week or two.
Interestingly, summer demand increased more in urban areas than in mountain regions.
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