Swiss hotels see business improve for third year running

The Swiss hotel trade is continuing its recovery, after several lean years. Overnight stays rose by nearly one per cent last year, but the improvement was down to more Swiss people holidaying in their own country.

The Swiss hotel trade is continuing its recovery, after several lean years. Overnight stays rose by nearly one per cent last year, but the improvement was down to more Swiss people holidaying in their own country.

A total of 32 million overnight stays were recorded last year, according to the federal office for statistics. The figure is nought point nine per cent higher than in 1998 and marked the third consecutive annual rise.

The statistics for the month of December, though, were not as good. There was a drop of two per cent over November, primarily because foreign visitors stayed away and fewer rooms were taken by the Swiss military, said the federal office.

The increase in overnight stays in 1999 was primarily due to a 3.4 per cent rise in domestic demand.

Overall, the number of foreign visitors staying in Swiss hotels last year fell back slightly, but some visitor markets showed an improvement. The number of tourists from Britain rose by seven per cent, while those from France, Germany and Japan fell by two per cent.

The massive snowfalls and avalanches in the Alps last February contributed to the downturn, according to the federal office.

The figures for 1999 are still 10 per cent below those of a decade ago, when overnight stays hit a record high. The Swiss tourism industry went into the doldrums in the early 1990s, primarily because of the high value of the Swiss Franc.

From staff and wire reports