swiss tourism in figures 2017 structure and industry data
Partnership. politics. quality. Edited by Swiss Tourism Federation (STF)
In cooperation with GastroSuisse | Public Transport Association | Swiss Cableways | Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO) | Swiss Hiking Trail Federation | Switzerland Tourism (ST) | SwitzerlandMobility
Imprint Production: Béatrice Herrmann, STF | Photo: Alina Trofimova | Print: Länggass Druck AG, 3000 Bern
The brochure contains the latest figures available at the time of printing. It is also obtainable on www.stv-fst.ch/stiz. Bern, July 2018 3
contents
at a glance 4 legal bases 5 tourist regions 7
Tourism – an important sector of the economy 8
Travel behaviour of the Swiss resident population 14
Accommodation sector 16 hotel and restaurant industry 29 tourism infrastructure 34 formal education 47
International 49
Quality promotion 51
Tourism associations and institutions 55 4
at a glance
CHF 46.7 billion 1 total revenue generated by Swiss tourism
27 993 km public transportation network 25 503 train stations and stops
54 911 905 air passengers 467 263 flights CHF 16.9 billion 1 gross value added 29 022 restaurants 8009 trainees CHF 16.0 billion 2 revenue from foreign tourists in Switzerland
CHF 16.1 billion 2 outlays by Swiss tourists abroad 165 675 full-time equivalents 1
37 392 740 hotel overnight stays average stay = 2.0 nights 4878 hotels and health establishments 275 203 hotel beds One of the largest export industries in Switzerland 4.4 % of export revenue
1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office,A nnual indicators of the Tourism Satellite Account TSA 2016 (first estimate) 2 Swiss Federal Statistical Office,T ourism Balance of Payments 2017 Sources: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, PublicT ransport Association, Federal Office of Civil Aviation, GastroSuisse 5
legal bases national tourism laws
Marketing Switzerland as a tourist destination Federal Act on Switzerland Tourism of 21 December 1955, Status as of 1 August 2008 (SR 935.21)
Promotion of innovation, cooperation and knowledge creation in tourism Federal Act on the Promotion of Innovation, Cooperation and Knowledge Creation in Tourism of 30 September 2011, Status as of 1 January 2017 (SR 935.22)
Promotion of the Hotel Industry Federal Act on the Promotion of the Hotel Industry of 20 June 2003, Status as of 1 January 2013 (SR 935.12)
Regional policy Federal Act on Regional Policy of 6 October 2006, Status as of 1 January 2013 (SR 901.0)
Casinos Federal Act on Gambling and Gambling Casinos of 18 December 1998, Status as of 27 December 2006 (SR 935.52) temporary Special rate for accommodation services Federal Act on Value Added Tax of 12 June 2009, Status as of 1 January 2018 (SR 641.20)
Tourism statistics Ordinance on the Conduct of Federal Statistical Surveys of 30 June 1993, Status as of 1 March 2018 (SR 431.012.1)
Nature parks Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage of 1 July 1966, Status as of 1 January 2017 (SR 451)
Cablecars and chairlifts Federal Act on Cableways for Passenger Transport of 23 June 2006, Status as of 1 January 2018 (SR 743.01)
Source: TERMDAT, terminology database of the Swiss Federal Administration 6 LEGAL BASES
cantonal tourism laws
Canton Internet Law Aargau www.ag.ch Location Development Act of 1 January 2010
Appenzell Innerrhoden www.ai.ch Promotion of Tourism Act of 25 April 1999
Appenzell Ausserrhoden www.ar.ch Tourism Act of 13 June 2016
Basel-Landschaft www.bl.ch Tourism Act of 19 June 2003
Basel-Stadt www.bs.ch Location Development Act of 29 June 2006
Bern www.be.ch Tourism Development Act of 1 May 2018
Fribourg www.fr.ch Tourism Act of 13 October 2005
Geneva www.ge.ch Tourism Act of 24 June 1993
Glarus www.gl.ch Tourism Development Act of 6 May 2007
Graubünden www.gr.ch Economic Development Act of 27 August 2015
Jura www.jura.ch Tourism Act of 31 May 1990
Lucerne www.lu.ch Tourism Act of 30 January 1996
Neuchâtel www.ne.ch Law to support the development of tourism (LTour) of 18 February 2014
Nidwalden www.nw.ch Promotion of Tourism Act of 16 December 2015
Obwalden www.ow.ch Tourism Act of 3 May 2012
St. Gallen www.sg.ch Tourism Act of 26 November 1995
Schaffhausen www.sh.ch Promotion of Tourism Act of 15 May 2017
Solothurn www.so.ch Economic and Labour Law (WAG) of 8 March 2015
Schwyz www.sz.ch Law on Economic Development of 27 November 1986 Thurgau www.tg.ch Law on Actions against Unemployment and for Location Development of 28 November 1988 Ticino www.ti.ch Tourism Act of 25 June 2014
Uri www.ur.ch Tourism Promotion Act of 23 September 2012
Vaud www.vd.ch Promotion of Tourism Act of 12 June 2007
Valais www.vs.ch Tourism Act of 9 February 1996
Zug www.zg.ch Tourism Act of 27 March 2003
Zurich www.zh.ch No tourism law 7
tourist regions
© Swiss Federal Statistical Office,T hemaKart As of 2017
1 Graubünden: Canton of Graubünden
2 Eastern Switzerland: Cantons of Glarus, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Thurgau, Schaffhausen (excluding parts of the district of Schaffhausen) and Canton St. Gallen (excluding parts of the district of See-Gaster)
3 Zurich Region: Cantons of Zurich and Zug; Canton of Aargau: commune of Baden; Canton of Schwyz: district of Höfe and part of district of March; Canton of St. Gallen: part of See-Gaster district; Canton of Schaffhausen: part of district of Schaffhausen
4 Lucerne / Lake Lucerne: Cantons of Lucerne, Uri, Obwalden and Nidwalden; Canton of Schwyz (excluding the district of Höfe and parts of the district of March)
5 Basel Region: Cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft; Canton of Solothurn: districts Dorneck and Thierstein
6 Bern Region: Canton of Bern: districts of Emmental, Oberaargau, Bern-Mittelland, Frutigen-Niedersimmental, Interlaken-Oberhasli, Obersimmental-Saanen and Thun
8 Jura & Three-Lakes: Cantons of Neuchâtel and Jura; Canton of Bern: districts of Bernese Jura, Biel / Bienne and of Seeland; canton of Solothurn: districts of Solothurn, Bucheggberg, Lebern, Thal and Wasseramt
9 Lake Geneva (Vaud): Canton of Vaud
10 Geneva: Canton of Geneva
11 Valais: Canton of Valais
12 Ticino: Canton of Ticino
13 Fribourg Region: Canton of Fribourg
14 Aargau Region: Canton of Aargau (without commune Baden); Canton of Solothurn: districts of Olten, Gösgen and Gäu 8
Tourism – an important sector of the economy
Domestic and international tourism are important factors in the Swiss economy. Of a total revenue of CHF 46.7 billion in 2016, 20.3 billion or almost 43.5 % came from tourist accommodation, meals and passenger transportation. These three tourism products are responsible for 61.7 % of the total value added from tourism.
Tourism – an invisible export The expenditure of foreign guests in Switzerland has the same effect on the Swiss balance of payments as the export of goods and services. In 2016, approximately 4.4 % of Switzerland’s export revenue (goods without nonmonetary gold and services) come from tourism. 1
Export revenue 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 Industry CHF bn CHF bn CHF bn CHF bn CHF bn Pharmaceutical and chemical industry 98.6 94.3 84.7 85.3 80.9
Metal and machine industry 61.3 58.2 57.3 60.5 60.0
Merchanting 2 25.2 24.2 24.9 26.5 23.3
Financial services 2 20.0 19.6 19.9 20.1 20.8
Watchmaking industry 19.9 19.4 21.5 22.3 21.8
Tourism (Tourism Balance of Payments) 16.0 15.8 15.8 16.3 15.6 1 The tourism figures in the table above are based on theT ourism Balance of Payments. For system-related reasons, however, they differ slightly from the values in the Tourism Satellite Account. The Tourism Balance of Payments, for instance, also reports expenditure by for- eign cross-border commuters and short-stay residents, foreign students at Swiss private schools and foreign students at Swiss colleges and universities, which are not included in the Tourism Satellite Account. On the other hand, the Tourism Balance of Payments does not include purchases of tickets (air travel and international rail tickets) from Swiss transportation enterprises made by foreign visitors abroad. 2 Data from the Data portal of the Swiss National Bank: data.snb.ch (access on 14 June 2018). Sources: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Swiss National Bank 9 TOURISM – AN IMPORTANT SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY
Tourism Balance of payments LARGEST SHARE OF INCOME FROM TRAVEL WITH OVERNIGHT STAYS
Switzerland’s income and expenditures related to travel are reflected in the Tourism Balance of Pay- ments. On the assets side, it reports Switzerland’s income from travel by foreign visitors in Switzer- land, and on the liabilities side, it shows expenditure by the resident Swiss population while abroad. For system-related reasons, the figures in the Tourism Balance of Payments differ slightly from the values in the Tourism Satellite Account. See footnote 1 on the previous page regarding this point.
The largest proportion of income comes from trips with overnight stays by foreign visitors. Of this income, revenue from clients of accommodation establishments is largely dominant over revenue from educational and hospital stays.
The Tourism Balance of Payments is based on numerous data sources including surveys of visitors and households as well as tourism accommodation statistics.
Tourism Balance of Payments Revenue from foreign tourists Expenditure of Swiss tourists abroad Revenue / Expenditure in billion CHF 2017 2 2016 1 2015 1 2017 2 2016 1 2015 1 Tourism, including overnight stays 10.6 10.4 10.5 12.0 11.8 11.2
Visitors staying in lodging facilities and 7.6 7.4 7.4 with relatives
Educational & medical stays 3.0 3.0 3.1
Excursionists, transit visitors, other tourism 2.8 2.8 2.8 4.1 4.2 4.4
Consumption expenditure of border workers 2.6 2.6 2.5 incl. short-term residents (< 4 months)
Total 16.0 15.8 15.8 16.1 16.1 15.7
1 Revised figures 2 Provisional figures Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office,T ourism Balance of Payments 10 TOURISM – AN IMPORTANT SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY
The Tourism Satellite Account increase in overall tourism demand
Overall tourism demand rose considerably in 2016 (+2.1 %) after firstly falling in the previous year (2015: −1.1 %). Thus a slight growth was observed for most products in 2016, leading to an increase in the overall tourism demand to a total of CHF 46.760 billion. The increase in accommodation services (+0.2 %) and food and beverage serving services (+0.2 %) remained relatively slight. The increase among passenger transport services was 0.4 % and among tourism-connected products 0.9 %. The decrease of non-tourism-specific products amounted to −3.2 %. shares of the tourism industry in switzerland
2014 2015 2016 1
Accomodation services
Food and beverage serving services
Passenger transport services
Travel agency, tour operator and tourist guide services
Cultural services
Recreation and other entertainment services
Miscellaneous tourism services
Tourism-connected services
Non-tourism-specific products
0% 5% 10%15% 20% 25% 1 First Estimate Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office,A nnual indicators of the Tourism Satellite Account
T he goal of the tourism satellite account is to provide answers on the status and development of tourism in Switzerland from an economic perspective. Three core variables are surveyed: tourism overall demand (i.e. total tourism consumption), gross value added by tourism and tourism employment. The main challenge in capturing the statistics of tourism is that economic statistics are generally supply-oriented. The NOGA division in different industries is based on the goods and services they mainly produce. By contrast, tourism as a cross-sectional sector includes several of these supply-side defined industries like accommodation, restaurant business, transport providers, travel agencies and tour operators to varying degrees. As such, restaurant services are not generally touristic but only insofar as they are actually consumed by tourists. Generally speaking, a good only becomes touristic when being consumed by tourists. Tourism is hence defined by the demand side. The Tourism Satellite Account represents the basic synthesising statistic to measure these economic impacts of tourism. 11 TOURISM – AN IMPORTANT SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY
The Tourism Satellite Account Increase of the gross value added
In 2016, the total gross value added by tourism increased (+2.2 %). Overall, this amounted to CHF 16.864 billion. In this way, almost all products registered a positive increase in gross value added. Non-tourism-specific products, however, registered a decrease of 1.3 %. Growth for accommodation services was 0.8 %, for food and beverage serving services 0.2 % and for passenger transport services 0.6 %. Growth for tourism-connected products was 1.1 %.
Share of tourism gross value added according to products
2014 2015 2016 1
Accomodation services
Food and beverage serving services
Passenger transport services
Travel agency, tour operator and travel guide services
Cultural services
Recreation and other entertainment services
Miscellaneous tourism services
Tourism-connected services
Non-tourism-specific products
0% 5% 10%15% 20%25%
1 First Estimate Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office,A nnual indicators of the Tourism Satellite Account 12 TOURISM – AN IMPORTANT SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY
The Tourism Satellite Account Slight increase in tourism employment
Although a sharp increase was registered for both the overall tourism demand and the gross value added, tourism employment in full-time equivalents increased by only 0.5 % in 2016 with 165 675 full- time equivalents. A rise was seen for the products accommodation services (+0.8 %), passenger trans- port services (+0.4 %) and tourism-connected products (+1.3 %). In contrast, employment in food and beverage serving services fell very slightly (−0.1 %). A decrease was observed for non-tourism-specific products (−1.1 %).
Tourism employment rate according to products (in full-time equivalents)
2014 2015 2016 1
Accomodation services
Food and beverage serving services
Passenger transport services
Travel agency, tour operator and tourist guide services
Cultural services
Recreation and other entertrainment services
Miscellaneous tourism services
Tourism-connected services
Non-tourism-specific products
010 000 20 000 30 000 40 000 1 First Estimate Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office,A nnual indicators of the Tourism Satellite Account 13 TOURISM – AN IMPORTANT SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY
Employment statistic Transport, accommodation and food service activities
Full-time equivalents according to economic sectors (in 1000, annual average)
2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Service industry Total 2861.3 2844.5 2831.6 2800.4 2773.0 2722.9
Men 1545.6 1536.5 1532.2 1519.8 1508.3 1483.0
Women 1315.7 1308.0 1299.4 1280.6 1264.6 1239.9
Accommodation Total 64.8 64.3 63.8 65.4 65.9 66.2
Men 31.1 30.6 29.8 30.4 30.6 30.6
Women 33.8 33.8 34.0 35.0 35.3 35.6
Food and beverage Total 118.9 119.5 119.9 120.8 119.3 121.2 service activities Men 59.7 58.2 58.7 59.9 59.3 59.3
Women 59.2 61.4 61.2 60.9 60.0 61.9
Land transport and Total 107.0 105.8 105.8 104.9 104.1 102.1 transport via pipelines Men 92.7 91.6 91.3 90.6 90.0 88.3
Women 14.2 14.1 14.6 14.3 14.1 13.8
Water transport and Total 13.6 14.1 13.8 14.0 14.0 13.2 air transport Men 8.0 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.5 8.0
Women 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.2
Jobs statistics: accommodation and food service activities (in 1000)
2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 4th quarter 3rd quarter 2nd quarter 1st quarter 4th quarter Full-time jobs (90 % and over) 137.9 135.4 136.0 135.3 137.4
Men 79.3 77.0 77.9 78.9 77.8
Women 58.6 58.4 58.0 56.4 59.6
Part-time jobs I (50 – 89 %) 50.5 50.3 49.9 49.1 49.7
Part-time jobs II (15 – 49 %) 46.8 46.1 42.7 41.3 41.8
Part-time jobs III (< 15 %) 22.5 22.1 22.2 20.9 24.1
Total number of jobs (overall) 257.8 254.0 250.8 246.6 252.9
Men 111.1 109.2 106.5 108.2 109.5
Women 146.6 144.8 144.3 138.4 143.5 Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Employment statistic 14
Travel behaviour of the Swiss resident population
In 2016, 91 % of the Swiss resident population undertook at least one trip with one or more overnight stays away from home. A total of 22.4 million trips were made, of which 7.5 million were within Swit- zerland. On average 3.0 trips were made per person, of which 1.0 had a domestic destination.
With 2.1 trips per person, persons aged 65 and more travelled less often than other age categories. People living in the German-speaking part of Switzerland undertook 3.0 trips, those from the French- speaking part 2.9 and the Italian-speaking population 2.6.
Number of trips (in 1000) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Trips with overnight stays 22 407 22 755 21 159 22 217 20 341 Day trips 76 920 79 660 75 780 76 447 71 651
In addition to trips with overnight stays, data on day trips are also collected. The Swiss resident popu- lation undertook a total of 76.9 million day trips in 2016, corresponding to an average of 10.2 trips per person. People living in the German-speaking part of Switzerland undertook 11.3 day trips, whereas one from the French- or Italian-speaking population made 7.8 and 5.2 trips per year respectively. number of trips (per person) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Trips with overnight stays 3.0 3.1 2.9 3.0 2.8 Day trips 10.2 10.7 10.3 10.5 9.9 1 Swiss resident population aged 6 or over: 7 536 990 persons Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office,T ravel behaviour 2016 15 TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR OF THE SWISS RESIDENT POPULATION
Travel destinations Among the trips with overnight stays recorded in 2016, 33 % had a Swiss destination. 38 % of trips led to countries that border Switzerland, namely Germany (13 %), Italy (12 %) and France (9 %). Finally, 21 % of trips had a destination in other European countries and 8 % outside Europe.
Number of trips with overnight stays by destination (in 1000) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 Switzerland 7 465 7 830 7 732 8 648 7 417
Germany 2 980 2 939 2 639 2 952 3 053
Austria 960 1 091 1 019 981 949
Italy 2 730 2 808 2 557 1 951 2 091
France 1 1 913 2 244 2 003 2 247 2 042
Southeast Europe 2 948 981 972 933 764
Southwest Europe 3 1 797 1 434 1 497 1 310 1 084
Rest of Europe 1 925 1 939 1 283 1 616 1 396
Rest of the world 1 689 1 486 1 454 1 575 1 544
Unknown – 3 3 4 –
Total 22 407 22 755 21 159 22 217 20 341
1 Including overseas departments and Monaco 2 Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia 3 Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar
Duration and purpose of travel Trips with a destination abroad lasted longer than trips within Switzerland. In 2016, trips of four or more overnight stays represented 68 % of the outbound and only 36 % of the inbound trips. On the oth- er hand, trips with only one overnight stay accounted for 29 % of domestic and 8 % of trips abroad. In 2016, the main reasons for trips were, as in the previous year, holidays and recreation. They accounted for 63 % of trips, and 70 % of these had a foreign destination. In second place came trips for the purpose of visiting family and friends (22 %). Business trips accounted for 6 % of trips.
Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office,T ravel behaviour 2016 16
Accommodation sector overview
Swiss tourism statistics break accommodation options down into hotel accommodation and supple- mentary accommodation.
Hotel accommodation Hotels: Hotels, boarding houses, guesthouses, motels. Health establishments: Sanatoria which are not subsidised by the canton and convalescent homes with medical manage- ment or support, alpine health establishments, altitude clinics, rheumatic clinics, public spas.
Supplementary accommodation Commercially run holiday homes: These are properties which are offered for rental to third parties. They exclude properties which are solely occupied by the owners or long-term tenants, or their family members. Campsites: Demarcated sites which are accessible to everyone for the temporary parking of caravans and motor homes in which they travel, and for the temporary erection of tents. Collective accommodation: Dormitories for tourists and groups, club and association houses, mountain refuges and huts. Youth hostels: Switzerland’s official youth hostels. Agritourism: Agritourism or Farm Holidays refers to tourist offers in the country which, generally speaking, are or- ganised by farmers themselves and represent an additional source of income. The three most popular offers in Switzerland are: ‘Swiss Holiday Farms’, ‘Sleep in Straw’ and ‘tourisme-rural.ch’ (combined in the ‘Agritourism Switzerland’ umbrella organisation since June 2011). Bed & Breakfast: Bed & Breakfast stands for all kinds of accommodation where a bed and a breakfast are offered.
Accommodation statistics (HESTA) replace the statistics for hotels and health establishments which date back to 1934 but which were discontinued in 2003 due to budget restrictions. In methodological terms, these figures cannot be compared to the old statistics; HESTA has been in operation since 1st January 2005.
Sources: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Parahotellerie Switzerland 17
Hotel accommodation Hotels and health establishments
In 2017, the Swiss hotel industry recorded a total of 37.4 million overnight stays, which was 5.2 % higher than in the previous year. Swiss demand amounted to 16.9 million overnight stays, which cor- responds to an increase of 4.2 % compared with 2016. Foreign guests generated 20.5 million overnight stays, i.e. an increase of 6.1 %. Germany accounted for the strongest foreign demand with 3.7 million overnight stays (+1.1 % compared with 2016), followed by the United States with 2.0 million overnight stays (+11.5 %) and the United Kingdom with 1.6 million (−1.1 %). In terms of tourist regions, the Zu- rich Region recorded the highest number of overnight stays in 2017 with 6.0 million units (+6.0 %). It was followed by Bern Region with 5.1 million overnight stays (+8.2 %) and Graubünden with 4.9 million overnight stays (+4.9 %). In 2017, visitors stayed an average of 2.0 nights in Switzerland. For guests from within Switzerland the average length of stay was 2.0 nights while for those from abroad it was 2.1 nights. Among the tourist regions, Graubünden recorded the longest average stay with 2.7 nights.
Development of overnight stays 2017 Monthly overnight stays and change in % compared to the same period of 2016
Overnight stays Change Overnight stays Change Overnight stays Change Total in % Foreigners in % Swiss in %
January 2 709 743 5.2 1 374 162 5.2 1 335 581 5.3
February 3 049 114 −1.2 1 461 830 − 2.3 1 587 284 − 0.1
March 3 154 642 − 0.4 1 650 792 − 0.7 1 503 850 0.0
April 2 546 968 12.3 1 407 088 12.5 1 139 880 12.0
May 2 791 766 4.9 1 652 485 6.4 1 139 281 2.9
June 3 430 831 9.8 2 014 409 9.6 1 416 422 10.0
July 4 289 083 5.4 2 449 200 7.3 1 839 883 2.9
August 4 265 016 4.1 2 512 695 6.3 1 752 321 1.1
September 3 569 618 5.2 1 955 660 6.8 1 613 958 3.3
October 2 980 995 7.8 1 507 376 9.0 1 473 619 6.7
November 1 973 338 5.0 1 057 874 5.5 915 464 4.5
December 2 631 626 7.4 1 429 294 8.4 1 202 332 6.3
Entire year 37 392 740 5.2 20 472 865 6.1 16 919 875 4.2
Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Statistics on tourist accommodation 18 ACCOMMODATION SECTOR
Overnight stays by country of residence of visitors
Winter season 2016 / 2017 Summer season 2017 Country of residence of visitors Calendar year 2017 (November to April) (May to October)
Total 37 392 740 15 788 946 21 327 309
Switzerland 16 919 875 7 573 558 9 235 484
Foreign countries 20 472 865 8 215 388 12 091 825
Europe total (excl. Switzerland) 11 871 346 5 528 508 6 273 252
Germany 3 745 134 1 707 384 2 024 976
United Kingdom 1 1 615 669 764 406 847 270
France 1 244 402 604 652 639 743 Italy 927 346 440 732 471 322 Netherlands 605 835 267 749 334 690
Belgium 587 573 294 792 289 933
Nordic countries 2 477 497 228 830 246 997
Spain 454 477 182 560 265 049
Austria 405 041 160 187 245 076
Russia 352 172 192 520 156 040 Other countries Europe 1 456 200 684 696 752 156 America total 2 794 990 940 304 1 827 399
United States 2 046 380 651 155 1 377 317
Canada 247 764 85 556 159 958
Brazil 244 854 109 589 131 572
Other countries America 255 992 94 004 158 552
Asia total 5 169 870 1 507 868 3 602 995
China (incl. Hong Kong) 1 430 702 457 457 950 668
Gulf States 3 919 968 219 474 699 153
India 739 185 150 286 587 212
Republic of Korea 457 212 140 173 307 101
Japan 408 258 86 393 317 440
Other countries Asia 1 214 545 454 085 741 421
Africa total 271 946 120 528 147 516
Australia, New Zealand, Oceania total 364 713 118 180 240 663
1 Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2 Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland 3 Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Statistics on tourist accommodation 19 ACCOMMODATION SECTOR
hotel industry: supply and demand cantons
Capacity 1 Overnight stays in thousands Net occupancy rate in % Canton Rooms Beds Swiss Foreigners Total Rooms 2 Beds 3
Graubünden 18 591 38 827 2 982 1 871 4 853 47 39
Bern 16 857 32 992 2 307 2 977 5 284 55 47
Zurich 15 186 26 517 1 510 3 875 5 386 67 56
Valais 13 680 28 393 2 135 1 788 3 923 49 41
Vaud 10 133 19 250 1 287 1 603 2 890 53 42
Geneva 9 367 15 308 547 2 508 3 054 66 55
Ticino 7 995 15 926 1 565 890 2 455 52 44
Lucerne 6 713 12 635 686 1 420 2 105 54 47
St. Gallen 4 756 9 155 592 387 979 40 31
Basel-Stadt 4 425 8 834 424 904 1 328 61 42
Aargau 3 329 5 657 385 331 716 45 35
Obwalden 2 041 4 233 250 395 646 53 44
Thurgau 1 996 3 567 267 141 408 41 32
Schwyz 1 975 3 860 362 172 534 42 39
Fribourg 1 968 4 046 287 160 446 41 31
Solothurn 1 754 3 240 204 210 414 47 36
Basel-Land 1 289 2 355 140 142 282 44 34
Zug 1 267 2 062 127 178 305 51 41
Uri 1 248 2 588 107 144 251 37 29
Neuchâtel 1 144 2 140 126 105 232 41 30
Nidwalden 881 1 898 123 118 241 47 37
Appenzell-Ausserrhoden 804 1 502 93 27 120 30 24
Jura 797 1 632 87 16 104 25 18
Glarus 706 1 541 114 17 131 31 25
Schaffhausen 630 1 243 83 70 153 46 35
Appenzell-Innerrhoden 520 1 589 131 22 153 49 29
Total 130 053 250 990 16 920 20 473 37 393 53 43 1 Only open establishments (available rooms and beds) 2 Number of room nights in per cent of the net room capacity 3 Number of overnight stays in per cent of the net bed capacity Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Statistics on tourist accommodation 20 ACCOMMODATION SECTOR
tourist regions Capacity 1 Overnight stays in thousands Net occupancy rate in % Tourist region Rooms Beds Swiss Foreigners Total Rooms 2 Beds 3 Graubünden 18 591 38 827 2 982 1 871 4 853 47.2 38.6
Zurich Region 17 690 30 727 1 762 4 200 5 962 64.6 53.7
Bern Region 15 802 31 148 2 179 2 897 5 076 55.7 47.9
Valais 13 680 28 393 2 135 1 788 3 923 49.0 41.5
Lucerne / Lake Lucerne 12 297 24 230 1 456 2 193 3 649 50.6 43.0
Lake Geneva Region (Vaud) 10 133 19 250 1 287 1 603 2 890 53.0 42.1 Geneva 9 367 15 308 547 2 508 3 054 66.3 54.6
Eastern Switzerland 9 191 18 167 1 260 641 1 901 39.7 30.3
Ticino 7 995 15 926 1 565 890 2 455 52.0 43.9
Basel Region 5 857 11 423 578 1 058 1 636 56.9 39.9
Jura & Three-Lakes 3 872 7 294 458 298 756 40.0 29.4
Aargau Region 3 611 6 251 423 367 790 44.8 35.4
Fribourg Region 1 968 4 046 287 160 446 41.2 31.1
Total 130 053 250 990 16 920 20 473 37 393 52.9 43.0
Communes Capacity 1 Overnight stays in thousands Net occupancy rate in % Communes Rooms Beds Swiss Foreigners Total Rooms 2 Beds 3 Zurich 8 303 14 774 696 2 498 3 195 71.3 59.7 Geneva 6 414 10 465 284 1 830 2 115 66.4 55.1
Basel 4 300 8 384 418 900 1 318 62.3 43.5
Davos 3 408 6 739 489 393 882 48.4 40.8
Zermatt 3 293 6 576 575 789 1 365 67.2 61.2
Lucerne 3 128 6 019 297 1 046 1 343 70.6 61.6
Lausanne 2 907 5 178 402 520 922 60.9 48.9
St. Moritz 2 287 4 469 243 423 666 54.8 45.9
Bern 2 000 3 433 331 422 754 70.2 60.3
Opfikon 1 928 3 105 167 582 749 74.4 66.1
Lugano 1 622 3 042 235 291 526 57.9 48.7
Interlaken 1 599 3 210 156 635 791 74.0 68.4 Montreux 1 377 2 513 191 297 488 60.9 53.6
Grindelwald 1 367 2 988 176 394 571 64.5 58.0
Other communes 86 119 170 095 12 257 9 451 21 708 46.4 37.3
Total 130 053 250 990 16 920 20 473 37 393 52.9 43.0 21 ACCOMMODATION SECTOR
Supply in hotels and health establishments
Surveyed Surveyed Surveyed Open Available Available Year establishments rooms beds establishments rooms beds 2017 4 878 141 404 275 203 4 369 130 053 250 990
2016 4 949 140 331 271 710 4 411 128 523 246 432
2015 5 055 141 018 273 507 4 509 128 979 247 625
2014 5 129 140 722 272 636 4 554 128 638 246 449
2013 5 191 140 192 271 298 4 662 128 648 246 489
2012 5 257 140 372 271 168 4 742 129 097 246 951
Demand in hotels and health establishments Average Net occupancy rate Net occupancy rate Year Arrivals Overnight stays duration of stay in % (rooms) 1 in % (beds) 2 2017 18 562 061 37 392 740 2.0 52.9 43.0
2016 17 477 932 35 532 576 2.0 51.3 41.6
2015 17 429 421 35 628 476 2.0 51.5 41.7
2014 17 162 053 35 933 512 2.1 52.0 42.2
2013 16 831 177 35 623 883 2.1 51.6 41.9
2012 16 297 767 34 766 273 2.1 50.5 40.8
Size of hotels and health establishments
Size of establishment Open establishments in % Arrivals Overnight stays
0 to 10 beds 603 13.8 148 300 307 352
11 to 20 beds 923 21.1 656 233 1 293 454
21 to 50 beds 1 430 32.7 3 058 680 6 328 229
51 to 100 beds 844 19.3 4 800 634 9 876 895
101 to 150 beds 270 6.2 2 920 212 5 878 716
151 to 200 beds 119 2.7 1 627 318 3 462 290
201 to 300 beds 108 2.5 2 508 326 4 917 014
301 and more beds 71 1.6 2 842 358 5 328 790
Total 4 369 100.0 18 562 061 37 392 740 1 Only open establishments (available rooms and beds) 2 Number of room nights in per cent of the net room capacity 3 Number of overnight stays in per cent of the net bed capacity Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Statistics on tourist accommodation 22
Supplementary accommodation 1
Following the suspension of the supplementary accommodation statistics in 2003, the survey of com- mercially-run holiday homes and collective accommodation (PASTA) was reintroduced in 2016. The survey is carried out nationally, based on a sample of representative units. For its implementation, the new statistics have called for a new methodology to fulfil both current standards and to optimise the quality of the results and reduce the burden on respondents. Subsequently, it is not possible to compare directly the results of the new and old statistics.
The survey of campsites was reintroduced in 2005. Comprehensive observations are made by the tourist accommodation statistics (HESTA).
HOLIDAY HOMES Over the past year, holiday homes registered 7.3 million overnight stays. This represents a rise of 7.5 % compared with 2016. Domestic demand totalled 4.4 million overnight stays (+6.2 % compared with the previous year) whereas foreign demand reached a total of 2.9 million (+9.6 %) units. More than 80 % of overnight stays by foreign visitors were by visitors from Europe (2.4 million / +9.2 %). In 2017, the Lake Geneva region was the major region that registered the highest number of overnight stays with 3.2 million, followed by Eastern Switzerland and Espace Mittelland (with 2.1 million and 1.1 million overnight stays respectively). In 2017, the average length of stay in holiday accommodation was 6.8 nights.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Holiday homes Major region surveyed Beds surveyed Arrivals Overnight stays Duration of stay
Lake Geneva Region 15 390 79 806 466 740 3 169 593 6.8
Eastern Switzerland 8 984 41 907 279 543 2 060 686 7.4
Espace Mittelland 4 061 19 321 184 489 1 141 843 6.2
Ticino 2 219 9 603 67 194 447 379 6.7
Central Switzerland 1 470 7 217 73 886 443 913 6.0
Zurich 238 715 6 079 34 535 5.7
Northwest Switzerland 152 494 4 684 21 377 4.6
Total 32 514 159 063 1 082 616 7 319 326 6.8
1 Non-hotel accomodation Source: Federal Statistical Office, Supplementary accommodation statistics 23 Supplementary accommodation
classified holiday residences
Holiday apartments, guest rooms and bed & Breakfasts by regions
Tourist region Total Valais 87 584 175 2 932 814 7 750 721 1 196 126 35 14 420
Graubünden 61 279 195 1 817 851 5 251 750 670 111 13 9 998
Bern Region 10 101 34 736 232 2 206 342 342 96 4 4 103
Ticino 1 30 24 296 97 1 115 137 182 45 13 1 940
Lucerne / Lake Lucerne 0 29 184 199 87 983 158 164 29 2 1 835
Lake Geneva Region (Vaud) 7 74 25 225 109 537 99 125 12 4 1 217
Eastern Switzerland / Liechtenstein 0 2 7 151 40 433 103 85 22 2 845
Jura & Three-Lakes 0 6 13 65 85 360 131 99 29 3 791
Fribourg Region 0 4 2 33 23 156 36 35 4 0 293
Zurich Region 0 5 0 41 3 149 1 16 0 3 218
Aargau Region 0 0 0 25 1 44 0 12 0 1 83
Basel Region 0 1 0 11 0 35 0 5 0 0 52
Geneva 0 1 0 13 0 12 0 3 0 1 30
Total 166 1 116 659 6 544 2 342 19 031 2 478 2 934 474 81 35 825*
awarded certificates 2007 – 2017 35 825* 35 000
30 000 28 247 26 500 25 117 25 000 23 227 21 663 18 705 20 000 17 099 18 102 18 027 15 195 15 000
10 000
5000
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
As of 31.12.2017 * Incl. holiday homes which already were classified in 2017 according to the new procedure. For more information on the classification of holiday apartments and guest rooms, please go to page 53 of this brochure. Source: Swiss Tourism Federation 24 Supplementary accommodation
COLLECTIVE ACCOMMODATION
Collective accommodation recorded 5.4 million overnight stays in 2017, i.e. growth of 2.4 % compared with the previous year; 4.3 million units were by Swiss clientele (+2.3 %). Foreign visitors generated 1.1 million overnight stays, an increase of 2.9 %. Visitors from the European continent represented the greatest number of foreign overnight stays with a total of 828 000 units (+12.8 %). At major region level, the Lake Geneva region and Espace Mittelland recorded the greatest number of overnight stays with 1.4 million units each. This was followed by Eastern Switzerland (1.2 million). In 2017, the average length of stay in collective accommodation was 2.6 nights.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND Establishments Beds Overnight Average duration Major region surveyed surveyed Arrivals stays of stay Espace Mittelland 664 30 969 596 322 1 447 111 2.4
Eastern Switzerland 621 28 903 419 486 1 227 484 2.9
Lake Geneva region 609 30 140 552 372 1 447 351 2.6
Central Switzerland 289 13 498 251 406 598 350 2.4
Ticino 182 8 409 146 380 419 400 2.9
Zurich 74 2 902 66 888 161 509 2.4
Northwest Switzerland 43 1 819 40 113 96 372 2.4
Total 2 482 116 640 2 072 966 5 397 578 2.6 Source: Federal Statistical Office, Supplementary accommodation statistics 25 Supplementary accommodation
youth hostels
The youth hostels in Switzerland with a network of 51 operations (same as the previous year) and 6 123 available beds (previous year 6 195) achieved a total of 785 000 overnight stays in 2017, 1.0 % fewer than in 2016. The demand from Swiss guests increased by 0.6 % to 547 000 overnight stays. Guests from abroad, on the other hand, spent 4.3 % fewer overnight stays in the youth hostels than in the previ- ous year, namely 239 000. Germans with 66 000 overnight stays accounted for the highest demand from abroad (down 0.4 % from 2016), followed by South Korean guests with 27 000 overnight stays (−6.7 %) and guests from Great Britain with 15 000 overnight stays (−11.5 %). Once again, Graubünden was the most visited tourism region in 2017 with 139 000 registered overnight stays (unchanged from the previ- ous year). The Bern region reported the second highest number of overnight stays at 108 000 (−19.5 %), followed by Zurich in third place with 107 000 overnight stays (−2.0 %). The average length of stay of the guests to the Swiss youth hostels in 2017 was 2.0 nights. Swiss guests spent an average of 2.0 nights, while the guests from abroad stayed 1.9 nights. Among the tourism regions, Graubünden reported the longest average length of stay with 2.6 nights.
Supply and demand
Surveyed Surveyed Overnight Average duration Tourist region establishments beds Arrivals stays of stay Graubünden 9 1 191 53 818 139 471 2.6
Zurich Region 8 794 59 525 107 235 1.8
Bern Region 6 737 56 552 108 132 1.9
Lucerne / Lake Lucerne 6 614 39 914 71 625 1.8
Valais 5 664 40 794 86 457 2.1
Eastern Switzerland 5 458 26 831 44 732 1.7
Ticino 4 631 40 974 87 480 2.1
Lake Geneva Region (Vaud) 3 479 x x x
Basel Region 2 312 x x x
Jura & Three-Lakes 2 159 x x x
Fribourg Region 1 84 x x x
Total 51 6 123 388 516 785 423 2.0 x = omitted for purposes of data protection (less than 3 open establishments) Source: Swiss Youth Hostels 26 Supplementary accommodation
Campsites
In 2017, the campsites 1 recorded 3.2 million overnight stays representing an increase of 13.9 % com- pared with the previous year. Swiss guests accounted for 2.1 million overnight stays, up 20.1 %. Foreign guests generated 1.0 million overnight stays, up 2.8 %. German guests accounted for 401 000 overnight stays (+6.4 % compared with 2016), which corresponds to the highest absolute result among the foreign countries. They were followed by visitors from the Netherlands with 218 000 overnight stays (−2.4 %), France with 92 000 (+8.1 %) and the United Kingdom with 85 000 (+6.9 %). With a total of 749 000 over- night stays for 2017, Ticino ranks first among all tourist regions in terms of absolute overnight stays and saw a 13.6% increase compared with the previous year. The Lake Geneva Region (Vaud) / Geneva 2 followed it with 459 000 overnight stays (+51.2 %). For Switzerland as a whole, the average length of stay was 2.9 nights in 2017. Swiss guests spent an average of 3.1 nights on campsites while foreign guests stayed 2.6 nights. Of all tourist regions, Ticino recorded the longest average length of stay with 3.7 nights. supply and demand
Overnight Average Surveyed leased Overnight duration Tourist region establishments campsites Arrivals stays of stay Valais 60 5 648 118 285 379 144 3.2
Bern Region 60 3 767 132 480 372 692 2.8
Graubünden 44 3 770 99 535 294 607 3.0
Lake Geneva Region (Vaud) / Geneva 2 44 3 492 148 885 458 544 3.1
Lucerne / Lake Lucerne 40 2 365 110 830 275 984 2.5
Jura & Three-Lakes 37 2 414 70 928 203 622 2.9
Eastern Switzerland 37 1 857 69 880 172 779 2.5
Ticino 33 4 967 200 729 748 901 3.7
Zurich Region 23 1 301 91 788 164 807 1.8
Fribourg Region 13 717 23 850 57 633 2.4
Aargau Region 10 341 14 750 33 642 2.3
Basel Region 5 134 4 970 11 318 2.3
Total 406 30 774 1 086 910 3 173 672 2.9
1 Only campsites which are included in the Swiss Business and Enterprise Register (BER). 2 Two regions combined due to data protection (less than 3 open establishments in the Geneva tourist region) Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Statistics on tourist accommodation 27 Supplementary accommodation
Agritourism
A survey of the 250 hosts showed that group accommodations achieved the most overnight stays (73 500) and the highest sales (CHF 2 143 000) were generated by holiday apartments and alpine huts. In 2017 a total of 181 000 overnight stays was achieved, resulting in total sales of CHF 5 309 000. The programme ‘Swiss Holiday Farms’ continues to be very popular with guests, mainly from Switzerland (85 %), Germany (11 %), France and the Netherlands (2 % each), seeking adventure and relaxation on a farm. The trend according to which guests prefer to spend more frequent, but shorter holidays on a farm appears to continue.
The new homepage www.myfarm.ch for the first time presents all of Switzerland’s agritourism -of fers, comprising the various overnight choices as well as gastronomy, farm shops and events in every language region in all parts of Switzerland. The various options ranging from sleeping in straw, guest rooms, and holiday apartments to alpine huts and group accommodations, can be booked online. Particularly popular among the guests are the operations offering the opportunity for horseback rid- ing or where children and adults are welcome to actively help the farmers. Some farms even offer holidays for kids who are not accompanied by an adult. Also available are holidays on wine-produc- ing operations. overnight stays and turnover 2017
Holiday apartments/ Group Campground/ alpine huts Guest rooms accommodations Camping/Tepee Total Offers 189 168 117 28 502
Ø Overnight stays per operation 377 141 627 438
Total overnight stays 71 253 23 688 73 359 12 264 180 564
Ø Price per person 30 50 25 12
Turnover 2 137 590 1 184 400 1 833 975 147 168 5 303 133
Source: Agritourism Switzerland 28 Supplementary accommodation
bed and breakfast
In 2017, 162 465 guests stayed in 843 accommodations in Switzerland (2016: 171 854 guests in 912 ac- commodations). A total of 372 204 overnight stays were recorded (2016: 396 017 overnight stays). Most of the overnight stays went to the Swiss guests again: 192 412 (2016: 210 000). Europe, excluding Swit- zerland, has the second largest share: 145 391 overnight stays (2016: 149 814). The results are not directly comparable to those of the previous years, as the number of hosts varies annually. supply and demand
Overnight Overnight stays Overnight stays Year Establishments 1 Rooms Beds Arrivals stays Swiss foreigners total 2017 843 2 667 5 366 162 465 192 412 179 792 372 204
2016 912 2 887 5 777 171 854 210 000 186 017 396 017
2015 911 2 830 5 658 168 062 204 000 192 423 396 423
2014 1 022 3 094 6 208 175 102 210 644 212 142 422 786
Overnight stays Overnight stays Change Tourist region 2017 2016 in % Bern Region 54 553 60 977 −10.54
Lucerne / Lake Lucerne 49 074 46 024 6.63
Valais 45 514 47 937 − 5.05
Region Aargau 32 926 33 804 − 2.60
Ticino 32 512 33 105 − 1.79
Lake Geneva Region (Vaud) 29 752 36 284 − 18.00
Zurich Region 29 480 28 285 4.22
Eastern Switzerland 24 451 26 013 − 6.00
Graubünden 23 664 32 620 − 27.46
Jura & Three-Lakes 20 917 18 648 12.17
Basel Region 13 173 14 634 − 9.98
Fribourg Region 12 408 13 995 − 11.34
Geneva 3 780 3 688 2.49
TOTAL 372 204 396 014 − 6.01
1 The accommodation units stem exclusively from the list of members of the Bed and Breakfast Switzerland organisation. Source: Bed and Breakfast Switzerland 29
hotel and restaurant industry major employer in switzerland
252 282 employees (2017)
8 009 trainees in basic vocational education and training (2016)
29 022 hotel and restaurant establishments (2015)
26 759 VAT-taxable hotel and restaurant establishments (2015)
27.7 billion francs of VAT-taxable annual turnover in catering business and hotels (2015)
907.7 million francs paid in VAT (after pre-tax deduction) (2015)
or
7.5 % of the overall net Federal Tax Administration (FTA) receivables (2015)
With 252 282 employees, the Swiss hospitality industry is one of Switzerland’s largest employers. Around 5 % of all employees work in the hospitality industry. In addition, the hospitality industry trains around 8009 youths in the context of vocational education and training (‘apprenticeships’). Along- side jobs in the hospitality industry itself, this sector also indirectly creates many jobs in other fields, for instance in construction, agriculture and specialised trade. Around half of the meat consumed in Switzerland is processed by the gastronomy segment, for example. This creates jobs in agriculture and in butcheries.
The Federal Statistical Office’s most recent count of establishments (2015) showed that there were 29 022 hospitality establishments in Switzerland. A survey of GastroSuisse members showed that 60.7 % of these were restaurants without overnight accommodation, 35.1 % were hotels with restaurants and 4.3 % were hotels without restaurants. The combined annual revenue of all hospitality establishments subject to VAT was around 27.7 billion francs. The hospitality industry makes a significant contribution to VAT income. In 2015, for instance, the hospitality industry paid 907.7 million francs in net VAT. The 26 759 hospitality establishments contributed a full 7.5 % of the Federal Tax Administration’s (FTA’s) total net tax receivables in 2015.
Source: GastroSuisse, Industry Report 2018 30 HOTEL AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Sales performance compared to previous years in % Hotel and restaurant industry Accomodation Restaurants
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Source: Survey KOF (economic research department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) in cooperation with GastroSuisse
Hospitality industry (hotel industry and restaurant industry): Change in sales in 2017 compared to previous years
1st quarter – 3.3 % 3rd quarter +2.3 %
2nd quarter +0.3 % 4th quarter – 0.9 %
Source: Survey KOF (economic research department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) in cooperation with GastroSuisse
In the first quarter, sales declined by 3.3 % compared to the previous year. In the second quarter, the hospitality industry recorded a slight increase in sales (+0.3 %) for the first time in three years. The up- ward trend continued in the third quarter. Sales increased by 2.3 %. After this upswing, sales stagnated in the last quarter of 2017 and then slightly declined (−0.9 %).
accommodation: change in sales in 2017 compared to previous years
1st quarter – 2.7 % 3rd quarter +5.7 %
2nd quarter +2.4 % 4th quarter +0.7 %
Source: Survey KOF (economic research department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) in cooperation with GastroSuisse 31 HOTEL AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Although in the hotel industry sales were down at the beginning of 2017 (−2.7 %), the business situ- ation greatly improved over the course of the year. The second quarter developed positively (+2.4 %) thanks to an increase in the number of guests. In the third quarter the hoteliers were able to increase sales even more (+5.7 %). A slight growth in sales (+0.7 %) continued in the fourth quarter.
Restaurant industry: change in sales 2017 compared to previous years
1st quarter – 3.7 % 3rd quarter +0.3 %
2nd quarter – 0.9 % 4th quarter –1.9 %
Source: Survey KOF (economic research department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) in cooperation with GastroSuisse
In the first quarter revenue fell (−3.7 %) due to declining sales of food and beverages. However, in the second quarter the downward trend slowed (−0.9 %). After several years of development that was consistently slightly negative, in the third quarter the restaurant business achieved a slight increase in sales (+0.3 %). In the final quarter of the year, the business situation again deteriorated somewhat (−1.9 %).
turnover per establishment
Annual turnover in CHF 2017 2016 2015
up to 150000
150 001 to 250 000
250 001 to 350 000
350 001 to 550 000
550 001 to 850 000
850 001 to 1 100 000
1 100 001 to 1 500 000
1 500 001 to 2 000 000
2 000 001 to 5 000 000
more than 5 000 000
0510 15 20 Turnover per establishment in % Source: GastroSuisse, Industry Report 2018 32 HOTEL AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
As in 2016, compared to previous years a shift from lower to higher sales categories was observed. On average, turnover per establishment increased. As a result, the number of establishments that transact between 2 000 001 and 5 000 000 francs increased by 1 percentage point. The number of es- tablishments with sales of over 5 000 000 francs also increased by 1 percentage point compared to the previous year. The greatest difference to 2016 is the sales category 1 100 001 to 1 500 000 francs (+2.1 percentage points). However, the number of establishments in the lower sales categories (up to 850 000 francs) declined compared to the previous year. The number of establishments that gener- ate between 350 001 and 850 000 francs decreased by 1.8 percentage points. Likewise, the number of establishments with sales between 150 001 and 250 000 francs declined (−2.5 percentage points). The number of establishments in the lowest sales category decreased by 1.4 percentage points.
An overview of important key ratios for the restaurant industry 2016
Total turnover per operating day 2 518 CHF
Total turnover per employee 125 421 CHF
Total turnover per employee and operating day 468 CHF
Turnover per restaurant per seat 9 054 CHF
Turnover per restaurant per seat and operating day 34 CHF
Turnover from food preparation per seat 6 655 CHF
Turnover from food preparation per seat and operating day 25 CHF
Source: GastroSuisse, Industry Report 2018
In the 2016 calendar year, on average 2,518 francs were transacted in a restaurant each business day. Each employee contributed 468 francs every day for an average of 268 business days, which led to sales totaling 125 421 francs per person. Sales per seat per business day was 34 francs, of which 25 francs were accounted for by culinary output.
More information can be found in the industry report 2018, which is published by GastroSuisse. This can be obtained from GastroSuisse (tel. 0848 377 112) for 35 francs. 33 HOTEL AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Size of establishment: Number of seats
8,9% 4,7%
18,3% 1–25 seats
21,4% 26–50 seats
51–75 seats
76–100 seats
21,7% 101–200 seats 201 and more seats 25,1%
Source: GastroSuisse, Industry Report 2018
Revenue breakdown In 2016, the average revenue from culinary output was 64.2 %, which was about the same as in 2014 and 1.7 percentage points higher than in 2015. The revenue share of alcoholic drinks remained the second largest at 20.5 %. 15.3 % of the revenue of an average restaurant was earned selling coffee, tea and mineral water.
Coffee / Tea
Kitchen
Mineral water
Spirits
Beer
Wine
0510 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 in % Source: GastroSuisse, Industry Report 2018 34
tourism infrastructure transport
Passenger Transportation Number of passengers per carrier 1950 – 2016 in millions of travellers Private road transp. Public transp. road Public transp. railways 7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Number of passengers per carrier 2016 in % of total transports
16,5%
Private road transportation 6,7% Public transportation road 2,2%
Public transportation railways
Ship travel/aerial cableways 74,6%
Source: LITRA Public transport information service 35 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
Public transport The public transport route network on railways, roads, lakes and rivers adds up to a total of 27 993 kilometres. 25 503 stopping points are served. In 2017, 2.53 million passengers made use of a half-fare card, 480 700 persons held a general abonnement valid throughout the country and over 1.3 million persons obtained a combined season ticket in one of the 17 regional tariff networks.
One of the densest railway networks in the world The railroad network of Switzerland totals 5 378 kilometres. 3 023 kilometres are part of the Swiss Federal Railways network. From Monday to Friday, the Swiss railways (SBB) operate around 6 300 passenger trains or 412 000 train kilometres on their route network. Around half of this consists of long-distance services (Eurocity, Intercity and express trains), the other half of regional and subur- ban railway services. In 2017, Swiss Federal Railways carried 1.26 million passengers per day. The average journey distance mounted to 40 kilometres. In addition to Swiss Federal Railways, a further 39 railway companies operate in the public transport sector, which are often referred to as private railways.
Finely tuned transport network with buses, trams and the PostBus During the year 2016, 118 transport companies transported guests by tram, trolley bus and bus on a 21 529 kilometre-long network (figures include PostBus). Around 17 250 employees were necessary in order to transport over 1.5 billion passengers with buses and trams.
The 887 PostBus routes operate a network of over 12 600 kilometres. 2 497 PostBus employees, with an additional 1 714 drivers from PostBus operators, conveyed almost 155 million passengers with 2 311 Postbuses. The vehicles covered an overall distance of 119 million kilometers.
Sources: LITRA Public transport information service, PostBus Switzerland Ltd., Public Transport Association, Swiss railway network 36 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
navigation: Active lake and river cruising in Switzerland In 2017 the 16 companies joined together in the Association of Swiss Navigation Companies (ASNC) transported a total of 12.22 million passengers with 148 boats. This represents a decrease of 30 000 passengers compared to the prior year.
Lake Lucerne, with 2.68 million passengers, lead the ranking based on the number of passengers, followed by the Lake Geneva with 2.38 million passengers and the Lake Zurich Horgen–Meilen ferry with 2.03 million passengers and Lake Zurich (incl. Limmat River) with 1.19 million passengers.
In distance travelled, the performance rised by 23 000 kilometres to 2.44 million kilometres. Inland waterway transportation covers a network of approximately 1 545 kilometres. Source: ASNC Association of the Swiss Navigation Companies air traffic: almost 55 million air passengers In 2017, Switzerland’s airports registered 0.5 million take-offs and landings by scheduled and charter flights as well as 54.9 million passengers (local and transit passengers). While the number of flight movements of scheduled and charter flights has dropped by 13 % since 2000, the number of pas- sengers has increased by 60 %. The reasons for this development are larger airplanes and higher oc- cupancy rates.
Flight movements and passengers Local and transfer Transit Total Airport Movements passengers passengers passengers
Zurich Kloten 236 418 29 361 201 33 357 29 394 558
Genève Cointrin 147 615 17 259 942 15 025 17 274 967
Basel Mulhouse 70 368 7 868 537 10 267 7 878 804
Bern Belp 5 832 167 566 854 168 420
Lugano Agno 4 008 135 534 0 135 534
St. Gallen Altenrhein 2 501 109 776 0 109 776
Sion 521 9 349 0 9 349
Total 467 263 54 911 905 59 503 54 971 408 Sources: Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Swiss Federal Statistical Office 37 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE wiss C ableways ssociation, S A ransport T ources: Public S ources: Public egend: overview of public transport and cableways transport of public overview L red = cableways = route network of train, bus and ship (without urban networks) grey 38 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
cableways: important in terms of regional economics
The mountain regions within the Alps and their peripheral areas are largely dependent on the income generated from tourism. The cableways occupy a key position in the tourism value creation chain. They are often the driving force in tourist destinations.
– By the end of 2016, there were 2 492 licensed facilities in Switzerland. Almost a third of these are T-bars. Rope tows and conveyors account for another third and approximately 20 % are continu- ously operating lifts (chairlifts, gondolas, 3-rope gondolas and funitels).
– Throughout Switzerland, cableways hire almost 4 580 full-time employees and almost 8 000 sea- sonal workers (summer and winter) in transport operations alone.
– In its core business of passenger transport, Swiss cableways achieved in the 2016 /17 winter season the sum of CHF 651.4 millions. Additional revenue of CHF 370 million was generated by the food service industry and other activities (e.g. rentals).
– The areas where visitors and locals can take advantage of the Swiss cableways spread from the Alps of canton Vaud to Eastern Switzerland and the Graubünden Alps. The cableways from Valais and Graubünden together generate almost 55 % of all passenger transports’ income in Switzerland.
Change in winter revenue in Switzerland (only passenger transports’ income) (in 1000)
in CHF 1000 000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
Source: Swiss Cableways (SCW), Facts and Figures on the Swiss Cableways Industry 2017; Laurent Vanat, season balance 2016 /17 39 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
evolution of Skier-days Development of the Skier-days (first entry per person and day during winter) depend primarily on the currency, economy and weather factors influencing tourism. Clearly visible is also a notable reduc- tion in the number of children and youths skiing or snowboarding.
Evolution of skier-days in Switzerland (in 1000)
30 000
25 000
20 000
15 000
10 000
5000
0 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
Source: Swiss Cableways (SCW), Facts and Figures on the Swiss Cableways Industry 2017; Laurent Vanat, season balance 2016 /17
Seasonal distribution of passenger transport income The importance of the summer season for the cableway sector varies greatly from region to region. While the winter season with a share of 92 % is the most important in the Graubünden, earnings during the summer account for approximately two thirds of total annual sales in the Ticino. In Swit- zerland as a whole, the winter quota is 75 %. Valais and Graubünden generate by far the largest in- come from passenger transport. In absolute figures, the 8 % summer quota in Graubünden (CHF 16.9 million) still represents significantly more income than the 65 % summer quota in Ticino (CHF 6.9 million).
Winter Summer CH-Average Winter
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0% Graubünden Fribourg/Vaud Eastern Switzerland Central Switzerland Valais Bernese Oberland Jura Ticino
Source: Swiss Cableways (SCW), Facts and Figures on the Swiss Cableways Industry 2017 40 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
SwitzerlandMobility
SwitzerlandMobility is the national network of non-motorized traffic for leisure and tourism focusing on the development and communication of the most attractive hiking, cycling, mountain biking, skating, and canoeing routes in Switzerland. In 2017, the availability of winter hiking, snowshoe walk- ing, cross-country skiing and sledging was expanded. SwitzerlandMobility links these routes with public transportation and a wide variety of services in the leisure and tourism industry. The support- ing body of the network is the SwitzerlandMobility Foundation.
SwitzerlandMobility route network summer
National routes Regional routes Local routes Number of kilometres Hiking 7 63 356 12 600
Cycling 9 54 44 11 000
Mountain biking 3 16 211 9 200
Skating 3 13 2 1 200
Canoeing 1 8 3 350
Total 23 154 616 34 350 Status as of 31.12.2017 winter
Number of offers Winter hiking 123
Snowshoe walking 152
Cross-country skiing 143
Sledging 82
Total 500
Status as of 31.12.2017 Source: SwitzerlandMobility 41 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
Sales generated as a result of SwitzerlandMobility Since SwitzerlandMobility was launched in the spring of 2008, the interest of the Swiss population and foreign tourists has grown steadily: while the web portal schweizmobil.ch registered just over 1 million visits in 2008, the number jumped to around 12 million in 2017.
Turnover from Turnover from Total turnover Swiss users Foreign visitors Swiss users (in CHF) foreign users (in CHF) (in CHF) Hiking 920 000 101 000 270 million 30 million 300 million
Cycling 750 000 75 000 290 million 65 million 355 million
Mountain biking 160 000 16 000 65 million 10 million 75 million
Total 1 830 000 192 000 625 million 105 million 730 million
Source: SwitzerlandMobility, surveys on usage in 2013 slow up SwitzerlandMobility, jointly with Switzerland Tourism and Health Promotion Switzerland, is a sup- porter of slowUp projects, car-free days of adventure in all regions of Switzerland.
Growth in number of slow up participants 2003 – 2017
Number of slowUp-events
500000 19 19 18 18 18 18 16 17 400000 15 14 14 12 300000 10
200000 6
100000 3
0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Participants: – 50 % each women and men – Average age: 39.6 years – Expenditures per person: CHF 24.90 Source: SwitzerlandMobility 42 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
Swiss hiking trails
Switzerland offers hikers an attractive and extensive network of hiking trails covering more than 65 000 kilometres – an offering unrivalled by any other country in the world. Swiss hiking trails are legally protected and they feature signage compliant with official standards. The ‘Swiss Hiking Trail Federation’ is the umbrella organisation for the 26 cantonal hiking trail organisations. Together, they promote hiking, support attractive hiking trail projects and represent hikers’ interests at the politi- cal level. The umbrella federation also supports the cantonal organisations and their members, who number approximately 45 000; it is responsible for fund-raising at national level, and it publishes the WANDERN.CH magazine. On its services website, the Swiss Hiking Trail Federation posts a vast range of fascinating background reports, tips and hints on hiking, and a database containing more than 800 suggestions for hiking throughout Switzerland: www.wandern.ch.
Network of hiking trails per region
Total network Paved walks Mountain walks Major region of walks (km) (km) (km)
Eastern Switzerland 19 545 3 963 11 268
Espace Mittelland 15 354 4 675 2 691
Lake Geneva Region 12 842 2 829 3 622
Central Switzerland 8 206 2 257 3 204
Ticino 4 366 612 3 485
Zurich 3 005 1 021 18
Northwest Switzerland 2 784 947 7
Total 66 102 16 304 24 295 Source: Swiss Hiking
Facts from the study «Hiking in switzerland 2014» – Hiking is the most popular leisure and sporting activity in Switzerland: almost half of the popula- tion aged 15 to 74 state that they are active hikers / mountain hikers. This figure translates into 2.7 million Swiss hikers in addition to 300 000 tourists from abroad. – The popularity of hiking has continued to increase in recent years: Switzerland has 7 % more hikers today than in 2008. – On average, each hiker takes 20 hikes of various lengths per year, with an average hiking time of three hours. Spread over a full year, this results in about 60 hours of hiking for a typical hiker. Three quarters of hikers also hike during the winter months. 43 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
– The average spend per person and day during a hike in Switzerland is CHF 45 or CHF 860 per year. Therefore, revenue generated by hikers amounts to approximately CHF 2.8 billion, broken down as follows: travel to and from the destination (approx. CHF 750 million), public transportation used along the way (approx. CHF 160 million), meals (approx. CHF 950 million), overnight accommoda- tion (approx. CHF 420 million), equipment (approx. CHF 490 million), and miscellaneous (approx. CHF 40 million). – Hikers are by no means the only users of hiking trails: overall, about 80 % of the Swiss population make use of signed hiking trails. – Signposts and trail markers are the most important forms of navigation support along the way.
Importance of various reasons for hiking
Promote health Spend time outdoors Enjoy being active Have fun Stay fit and in shape Unwind Relax Enjoy time with friends Create memorable experiences Meet other people Look better Pursue personal performance goals Test one’s limits Train for a competition/event Compete with others 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
very important important less important not important
Source: ‘Sport Schweiz 2014’ study, number of respondents: 10 652, of which 3665 hikers (recognized athletes only)
Hikers are satisfied with the offer Of particular importance to hikers are the attractive scenery along the trails, the experience of nature and the opportunity to unwind while hiking. In terms of infrastructure, end-to-end trail signage (in- cluding information on hiking times at regular intervals), unpaved (natural) paths, and varied, well maintained trails are rated as very important by hikers. More than 60 % also consider restaurants, inns and public transportation to the trails to be important or very important. Most hikers are very satisfied with the above-mentioned aspects.
Source: Swiss Hiking 44 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
Swiss Parks
The park environment in Switzerland has taken shape. Following the dynamic developments of the past 10 years, the latest map (updated January 2018) includes 19 parks and park projects, representing more than 12 % of the area of Switzerland in 13 different cantons.
The Swiss National Park in the Engadine is the best-known park in the country. It was established over 100 years ago as the first national park in the Alpine region, and it has its own legal basis. Since the revision of the Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage (NCHA) of 2007, one new national park project has been developing: the Parco Nazionale del Locarnese in the Canton of Ticino. During the popular votes held in June 2018, the residents if the communes participating in the project will decide whether or not the park will see the light of day.
In addition to the national parks, Switzerland has 15 regional nature parks and one nature discovery park that meet the requirements of the Parks Ordinance (ParkO) to the NCHA. There is also the Jorat Nature Discovery Park, a park project in the Canton of Vaud.
Swiss park policy has been a success story. Regional nature parks have sprung up in all areas of the country. They have become pillars of long-term regional growth, creating added value for the nature and the countryside, for society and the regional economy – with tourism and regional products as the main economic beneficiaries. The national and nature discovery parks focus on conservation of nature and the countryside, with particular emphasis on natural processes (core zones). By providing the basis for experiences of nature, these parks also attract tourism.
In 2016, the Swiss Parks won the ‘Tourism For Tomorrow Award’, an international prize for sustainable tourism. Thanks to its parks, Switzerland was thus honoured as one of the world’s most sustainable destinations.
Studies on value added by tourism in the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch (Knaus F., 2012) and the Bio- phere Reserve ‘Val Müstair Parc Naziunal’ (Backhaus N., 2013) have shown that 16 % of visitors make their journeys because of the Biosphere Entlebuch, while as many as 36 % travel on account of the Swiss National Park. They generate total added value of CHF 6 million for the Entlebuch region and CHF 20 million for the Swiss National Park region, corresponding to six times the amount of the public funds invested (at federal, cantonal and municipal levels).
Source: Swiss Parks Network 45 SWISS PARKS
Categories of parks TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
«Swiss National Park» 17
National Park
Regional Nature Park 12 Nature Discovery Park 14 4 18
7
3
10
9 1 19 13 5 15 8
11
16 6
2
1 Swiss National Park | 2 Progetto Parco Nazionale del Locarnese* | 3 UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch | 4 Naturpark Thal | 5 Biosfera Val Müstair | 6 Landschaftspark Binntal | 7 Parc régional Chasseral | 8 Naturpark Diemtigtal | 9 Parc Ela | 10 Naturpark Gantrisch | 11 Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d‘Enhaut | 12 Jurapark Aargau | 13 Naturpark Beverin | 14 Parc du Doubs | 15 Parc Jura vaudois | 16 Naturpark Pfyn-Finges | 17 Regionaler Naturpark Schaffhausen | 18 Wildnispark Zürich Sihlwald | 19 Parc naturel périurbain du Jorat **
* Candidate National Park ** Candidate Nature Discovery Park
© Swiss Parks Network Source: swisstopo, FOEN Status as of January 2018 46 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE
Swiss ski schools
152 Swiss ski schools employ approximately 4 000 ski, snowboard, telemark and nordic instructors. During the high season, as many as 7 000 teach in these schools that offer skiing, snowboard, nordic and telemark lessons for both children and adults. On request, there are also a number of other sport- ing activities and package deals available to guests.
Change in the number of lessons sold by Swiss ski schools 1
Sold lessons (hours)
5 000 000
4500 000
4 000 000
3500 000
3 000 000 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18
1 Status as of May 2018
Breakdown of group and private lessons
100% Private lessons
80% Group lessons
60%
40%
20%
0% 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18
Source: SWISS SNOWSPORTS
Up-to-date figures for the season will be available at www.snowsports.ch as of August. These will ad- ditionally be published in the annual report. 47
formal education vocational education and training
federal proficiency certificates Certificates of qualification issued Apprentices hired Hotel and restaurant 2017 2016 2017 2016 Hotelfachmann/-frau EFZ 318 307 303 315
Hotel-Kommunikationsfachmann/-frau EFZ – – 109 –
Koch/Köchin EFZ 1 444 1 463 1 595 1 626
Restaurationsfachmann/-frau EFZ 520 553 482 566
Systemgastronomiefachmann/-frau EFZ 54 44 49 62
Transport services
Matrose/Matrosin der Binnenschifffahrt EFZ 11 11 18 10
Seilbahn-Mechatroniker/in EFZ 16 23 39 35
Fachmann/-frau öffentlicher Verkehr EFZ – – 68 70
Economy and administration
Kaufmann/-frau EFZ B
Hotel-Gastro-Tourismus 31 55 7 7
Öffentlicher Verkehr 17 29 2 3
Reisebüro 6 8 2 3
Transport 14 12 7 6
Kaufmann/-frau EFZ E
Hotel-Gastro-Tourismus 192 188 146 140
Öffentlicher Verkehr 301 290 220 289
Reisebüro 145 155 128 132
Transport 20 20 27 21
federal certificates (BFC) Hotel and restaurant
Hotellerieangestellte/r EBA 26 28 33 33
Küchenangestellte/r EBA 258 301 384 364
Restaurationsangestellte/r EBA 112 96 141 147
Seilbahner/in EBA 5 4 – 7 Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office 48 FORMAL EDUCATION
1 Higher vocational education and training: final exams
2016 2015 2014 Federal certificates Men Women Total Total Total Bereichsleiter/-in Hotellerie-Hauswirtschaft 4 71 75 72 81
Bereichsleiter/-in Restauration 9 19 28 31 30
Bergführer/-in 18 – 18 23 20
Cabin Crew Member 17 23 40 47 60
Chef de Réception 1 17 18 – 13
Chefkoch / Chefköchin 130 29 159 111 132
Fachmann/-frau im Pisten und Rettungsdienst – – – 25 –
Gastro-Betriebsleiter/-in 32 25 57 77 68
Schneesportlehrer/-in 75 32 107 114 133
Seilbahnfachmann/-frau 34 – 34 12 41
Tourismus-Assistent/-in 4 24 28 44 34
Wanderleiter/-in 6 3 9 5 46
Federal diplomas Manager/-in öffentlicher Verkehr 18 1 19 – 17
Gastro-Unternehmer/-in 11 11 22 17 12
Küchenchef/-in 36 1 37 4 31
Leiter/-in Gemeinschaftsgastronomie 5 1 6 1 7
Leiter/-in Hotellerie – Hauswirtschaft – 2 2 – 3
Restaurationsleiter/-in 4 4 8 – 4
Manager/-in Gesundheitstourismus und Bewegung – – – 1 10
Seilbahnmanager/-in – – – 3 –
Diploma of colleges Betriebsleitung Facility Management 1 28 29 33 23
Hotellerie und Gastronomie 204 238 442 417 462
Tourismus 41 157 198 173 206
2016 2015 2014 BACHELOR of Universities of Applied Sciences Men Women Total Total Total Hospitality Management 156 208 364 544 504
Tourismus 46 137 183 191 164 1 The figures for 2017 were not available at the time of printing. Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office 49
International tourist arrivals
International tourist arrivals grew by a remarkable 7 % in 2017 to reach a total of 1,322 billion, accord- ing to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. This is well above the sustained and consistent trend of growth since 2010 and represents the strongest results in seven years.
2017 was characterised by sustained growth in many destinations and a firm recovery in those that suf- fered decreases in previous years. Results were partly shaped by the global economic upswing and the robust outbound demand from many traditional and emerging source markets, particularly a rebound in tourism spending from Brazil and the Russian Federation after a few years of declines.
International arrivals in million Change in % 2017 1 2016 2017 1/16 2016 /15 Europe 670.7 619.0 8.4 2.3
Northern Europe 77.0 73.8 4.4 5.8
Western Europe 194.4 181.5 7.1 0.0
Central / Eastern Europe 132.9 126.6 4.9 3.5
Southern / Mediter. Europe 266.4 237.1 12.4 2.4
Asia and Pacific 324.0 305.9 5.9 7.7
North-East Asia 159.5 154.3 3.4 8.6
South-East Asia 120.2 110.8 8.4 6.3
Oceania 16.6 15.7 6.0 9.7
South Asia 27.7 25.1 10.4 7.0
Americas 207.1 200.7 3.2 3.6 North America 133.2 130.9 1.7 2.7
Caribbean 26.0 25.2 3.2 4.7
Central America 11.2 10.7 4.7 4.1
South America 36.7 33.9 8.4 6.3
Africa 62.8 57.6 9.0 7.6
North Africa 21.7 18.9 15.0 5.0
Subsaharan Africa 41.1 38.7 6.0 8.9
Middle East 58.0 55.6 4.4 − 4.3
World 1323 1239 6.8 3.7 1 Estimate Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 50 INTERNATIONAL
top destinations
International arrivals in million Change in % Rank Country of destination 2016 2015 2016 1/15 2015/14
1 France 82.6 84.5 −2.2 0.9 2 United States 75.9 77.5 −2.1 3.3
3 Spain 75.3 68.2 10.5 5.0
4 China 59.3 56.9 4.2 2.3
5 Italy 52.5 50.9 3.1 4.4
6 United Kingdom 35.8 34.4 4.0 5.6
7 Germany 35.6 35.0 1.8 6.0
8 Mexico 35.1 32.1 9.3 9.4
9 Thailand 32.6 29.9 8.9 20.6
10 Turkey 30.3 39.5 −23.3 −0.8
34 Switzerland 10.4 9.3 11.8 1.6
International tourism receipts Change in % in billion US-$ based on local currency Rank Country of destination 2017 2016 2017 1/16 2016/15 1 United States 203.7 205.9 −1.1 0.3
2 Spain 68.0 60.5 10.1 7.2
3 France 60.7 54.5 9.0 −6.3
4 Thailand 57.5 48.8 13.1 12.2
5 China 32.6 44.4 −25.4 5.3
6 United Kingdom 43.9 41.5 10.8 3.3
7 Italy 44.0 40.2 7.2 2.3
8 Germany 39.8 37.5 4.2 1.7
9 Australia 42.8 37.0 12.1 9.3
10 Hong Kong (China) 33.2 32.8 1.6 −9.0
22 Switzerland 17.0 16.3 4.5 1.4 1 Estimate Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 51
Quality promotion quality programme of swiss tourism
The Quality Programme of Swiss Tourism promotes the development of quality and quality assurance in tourism operations. The three-level programme is supported by eleven industry organisations. In 2017 the programme was revised and published with new contents.
trained persons Level I Level II Total 600
500
400
300
200
100
0 2000 2005 2010 2015 2016 2017
Since 1998 a total of 12 483 individuals have been trained and 8 819 quality labels have been granted. Compared to the previous year, the Lucerne / Lake Lucerne region report- ed the largest increase in valid Q-labels (+12.3 %) in 2017, while Taxis (+383 %) was the industry with the highest growth.
labels per industry 2017
18,5% Hotel industry
Taxis 38,8% 3,9% Tourism organisations
3,9% Bus touring companies
5,6% Public transport
Snow sport schools
13,8% Other 15,5%
Status as of 31.12.2017 Source: Swiss Tourism Federation 52 QUALITY PROMOTION
FamilY DESTINATION / Wellness Destination
Since 1996 Swiss holiday destinations addressing their services to the needs and wishes of families can apply for the Family Destination quality label. In 2017, 26 destinations were bearing the label.
Since 2008 the Swiss Tourism Federation has been awarding a Wellness Destination quality label to Swiss holiday destinations specialising in wellness services. In 2017 this quality label was awarded to 9 destinations.
destinations carrying the label family destination 2016 – 2018
Valais 1 Fiesch 2 Riederalp 3 Bettmeralp 4 Blatten – Belalp 5 Bellwald 6 Crans-Montana 7 Nendaz 8 Grächen 9 Saas-Fee 10 Zermatt
Bernese Oberland 11 Lenk 12 Hasliberg
Lucerne / Lake Lucerne 13 Sörenberg 14 Engelberg
Eastern Switzerland / Liechtenstein 15 Braunwald 16 Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann 17 Malbun
Graubünden 18 Flims, Laax 19 Lenzerheide 20 Savognin 21 Arosa 22 Davos 23 Klosters 24 Pontresina 25 Zuoz
Ticino 26 Ascona – Locarno
Wellness Destination 2015 – 2017
Fribourg Region A Charmey Zurich Region F City of Baden
Bernese Oberland B Gstaad Saanenland Lucerne / Lake Lucerne G Weggis Vitznau Rigi
Valais C Leukerbad Ticino H Ascona – Locarno
Aargau Region D Rheinfelden Graubünden I Engadin Scuol E Bad Zurzach
E D F
16 17 G 15 23 13 14 18 21 22 I 12 19 A 20 25 24 B 5 11 3 1 C 4 2 6 8 H 7 26 9 10 Family Destination Source: Swiss Tourism Federation Wellness Destination 53 QUALITY PROMOTION
Classification of holiday apartments and guest rooms
The Swiss Tourism Federation classifications are aimed at providing an idea about the quality and services of holiday apartments and guest rooms in Switzerland. This results in a high level of transparency and therefore comparability between the different providers.
Awarded certificates 2017
52 83 218 845
791
1835
4103 293 9998 1217
1940 30 14 420 0 – 100 101 – 1000 1001 – 3000 3001 – 15 000
A detailed overview of the regional distribution is found on page 23 of this brochure. Source: Swiss Tourism Federation
other labels
ibex fairstay ibex fairstay accompanies lodging companies on their way to a sustainable company management. Hotels, hostels and clinics which surpass their responsibility for sustain- able action will be rewarded. The integral support contains the five areas such as manage- ment, ecology, regionalism, social awareness and economic efficiency. With the help of a measure catalogue as well as supported calculations and analyses practical improvement possibilities are indicated. The companies are awarded the bronze, silver, gold or plati- num level according to their performance of sustainability. There is also the possibility of a combined certificate of the EU-Ecolabel as well as the Quality Program of Swiss Tourism.
Year 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Certified companies 58 56 57 55 53 Source: ibex fairstay 54 QUALITY PROMOTION
Safety in Adventures The Safety in Adventures foundation has defined objectives to set a standard for outdoor and adventure activities. Commercial providers develop and implement their own safety concept according to the management system of Safety in Adventures. This forms the basis for the certification and the awarding of the label by an independent body. Since 2014 certification is legally required for bungee, canyoning and rafting.
Year 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Certified companies 30 34 45 41 44 Source: Safety in Adventures
EU environmental label for lodging establishments The EU environmental label for lodging establishments is the only environmental certificate for hotel and non-hotel lodging operations recognized throughout Europe. It communicates to the guests that the management is concerned with issues of ecology. Compliance with the required criteria is ensured by on-site inspections.
The purpose of the label is to encourage lodging establishments to consider the eco- logy in their operations. In the medium- to long-term, the certified establishments are expected to decrease energy usage, reduce water consumption, lessen the amount of waste, increasingly use regional products and foster the environmental awareness of both staff and guests.
Year 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Certified companies 50 50 49 56 56 Source: SALADINO Umweltprojekte 55
Tourism associations and institutions
Tourism interest groups and professional associations
Agritourism Switzerland Brunnmattstrasse 21, 3007 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 359 50 30, www.myfarm.ch, [email protected]. Umbrella organisation for the marketing and coordination of agritourist services in Switzerland with around 250 members.
Association of postgraduate Hoteliers and Restaurateurs SHV/Hotelmanager NDS HF Secretariat, Kapplerstrasse 70, 9642 Ebnat-Kappel, phone +41 (0)79 833 81 75, www.vdh.ch, [email protected] Networking, further education and friendship care for students of the postdiploma course Unternehmensführung resp. Nachdiplom- studium NDS HF of hotelleriesuisse.
Association of Swiss Tourism Managers (ASTM) c/o Schmid Pelli & Partner AG, Weinbergstrasse 164, 8006 Zurich, phone +41 (0)43 810 06 06, www.vstm.ch, [email protected]. Representation of the professional interests of tourist office managers. Professional development, network maintenance, lobbying.
Association of the Swiss Navigation Companies Mythenquai 333, 8038 Zurich, phone +41 (0)43 243 16 57, fax +41 (0)43 243 16 58, www.vssu.ch, [email protected]. Safeguarding the interests of the 16 member shipping companies.
Bed and Breakfast Switzerland Sonnenweg 3, 4144 Arlesheim, phone +41 (0)61 703 00 83, www.swissbnb.ch, [email protected]. Organisation of Swiss BnB host families. Information, promotion (internet / app), quality assurance, official institution for the classification of all Swiss BnBs.
Community of Interest of the Higher Schools of Tourism Management Switzerland c/o IST AG, Josefstrasse 59, 8005 Zürich, phone +41 (0)44 440 30 90, fax +41 (0)44 271 71 17, www.ist-edu.ch, [email protected]. Safeguarding common interests towards the public authorities, associations and the general public, promotion of tourism manage- ment education and training in Switzerland.
Foundation SwitzerlandMobility Spitalgasse 34, 3011 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 318 01 28, fax +41 (0)31 318 01 29, www.switzerlandmobility.ch, [email protected]. Quality assurance, information, development of national, regional and local offers for hiking, cycling, mountain biking, skating, canoeing, winter hiking, snowshoe trekking, cross-country skiing and sledging.
GastroSuisse Blumenfeldstrasse 20, P.O. Box, 8046 Zurich, phone +41 (0)848 377 111, fax +41 (0)848 377 112, www.gastrosuisse.ch, [email protected]. GastroSuisse is the association for hotels and restaurants in Switzerland. Around 20 000 members organised in 26 cantonal sections and 4 specialist groups belong to Switzerland’s largest employers’ association in the hospitality industry.
Groups AG | Feel at home – together Spitzackerstrasse 19, 4410 Liestal, phone +41 (0)61 926 60 00, www.groups.swiss, [email protected]. Organisation of group accommodations and group hotels in Switzerland. Services: rental agency (commission-free), worldwide marketing, consultation and settlement services, quality management, travel insurance specifically for groups, booking software www.groupsoffice.com.
hotelleriesuisse Monbijoustrasse 130, P.O. Box, 3001 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 370 41 11, fax +41 (0)31 370 44 44, www.hotelleriesuisse.ch, [email protected]. hotelleriesuisse is the centre of excellence for the Swiss hotel industry and the trade association which represents the interests of the nationally and internationally oriented hotel establishments. The association is a member of the European Hotelstars Union. 56 TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
Hotel & Gastro Union Adligenswilerstrasse 29/22, P.O. Box 4870, 6002 Lucerne, phone +41 (0)41 418 22 22, fax +41 (0)41 412 03 72, www.hotelgastrounion.ch, [email protected]. Union of employees, professionals and management staff of the hotel / restaurant trade of bakers and confectioners.
Interhome AG Sägereistrasse 27, 8152 Glattbrugg, phone +41 (0)43 810 91 91, www.interhome.ch/en, [email protected]. Rental specialist for individual holiday houses and apartments in the most popular regions of Switzerland and internationally. Interhome’s services include the management of the properties as well as the handling of the complete booking process and fulfillment while ensuring high quality standards.
Parahotellerie Switzerland Schaffhauserstrasse 14, P.O. Box, 8042 Zurich, phone +41 (0)44 360 14 31, fax +41 (0)44 360 14 25, [email protected]. Representation of the interests of quality-conscious Swiss non-hotel establishments regarding tourism policy matters and the promotion of meaningful partnerships and activities. Members ensure direct quality definition / quality control and operate their own online reservation platforms. The current members are Bed and Breakfast Switzerland, Interhome AG, Swiss Travel Fund (Reka), Swiss Youth Hostels and TCS Camping.
Snow Sport Initiative Switzerland – GoSnow.ch Finkenhubelweg 11, P.O. Box, 3001 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 307 47 52, www.gosnow.ch, [email protected]. Association for the promotion of snow sports for children and adolescents at a national level through organised low-cost arrangements for schools.
Swiss Association of Public Transport Dählhölzliweg 12, 3000 Bern 6, phone +41 (0)31 359 23 23, fax +41 (0)31 359 23 10, www.voev.ch, [email protected]. Protection of interests. Promotion of collaboration amongst the members. Information and consultation activities. Professional formation and further education.
Swiss Cableways Dählhölzliweg 12, 3000 Bern 6, phone +41 (0)31 359 23 33, fax +41 (0)31 359 23 10, www.seilbahnen.org, [email protected]. Representation of the common interests of the cableways vis-à-vis the authorities and the government, information of the media and the public regarding industry concerns, fundamental training, continuing education and training offered to employees at all levels, consultation for members regarding legal, financial, operational, technical, and administrative issues, periodic surveys regarding the industry’s financial position. swisscamps – Swiss Camping Association Bahnhofstrasse 5, 3322 Schönbühl, phone +41 (0)31 852 06 26, fax +41 (0)31 852 06 27, www.swisscamps.ch, [email protected]. Promotion of camping vacations and classification of camp sites.
Swiss Centre for mountain regions (SAB) Seilerstrasse 4, 3001 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 382 10 10, www.sab.ch, [email protected]. Created in 1943. Lobbying for mountain regions and advisory services for projects in regional development.
Swiss Hiking Trail Federation Monbijoustrasse 61, 3007 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 370 10 20, fax +41 (0)31 370 10 21, www.wandern.ch, [email protected]. Umbrella organisation of 26 cantonal hiking associations. Promotes hiking trails and hiking in Switzerland.
Swiss Hostels Alpenstrasse 16, 3800 Interlaken, phone +41 (0)33 823 46 46, fax +41 (0)33 823 46 47, www.swisshostels.com, [email protected]. Industry organisation for independent hostels in Switzerland. Joint marketing, joint purchase, network and exchange, and strengthen the position of Swiss Hostels in the Swiss accommodation industry. 57 TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
Swiss Parks Network Monbijoustrasse 61, 3007 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 381 10 71, www.parks.swiss, [email protected]. The Network is the umbrella organisation of all Swiss parks which administers the interests of its members and assists them in establishing and operating the parks, as well as in ensuring their quality in the long-term. The 19 parks characterize themselves by their natural and cultural landscapes. They are engaged to protect and to valorize them.
SWISS SNOWSPORTS Hühnerhubelstrasse 95, 3123 Belp, phone +41 (0)31 810 41 11, fax +41 (0)31 810 41 12, www.snowsports.ch, www.swiss-ski-school.ch, [email protected], [email protected]. Alliance of tourism sector institutions interested in joint promotion of the Swiss Ski School system. Education of ski, snowboard, telemark and cross-country teachers.
Swiss Tourism Federation (STF) Finkenhubelweg 11, P.O. Box, 3001 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 307 47 47, fax +41 (0)31 307 47 48, www.stv-fst.ch, [email protected]. To safeguard the interests of those responsible for tourism in Switzerland and to participate in all tourism policy decisions; to provide information about the importance of tourism and to contribute to tourism research.
Swiss Travel Savings Fund (Reka) Cooperative Neuengasse 15, 3001 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 329 66 33, fax +41 (0)31 329 66 01, www.reka.ch, [email protected]. The Swiss Travel Fund (Reka) Cooperative is a strong, modern organization with a non-profit-making social tourism goal. It aims to enable as many families in Switzerland as possible to enjoy holidays and leisure. With its two business spheres, Reka Money and Reka Holidays, it has achieved a unique Swiss product mix.
Swiss Youth Hostels (SYH) Schaffhauserstrasse 14, P.O. Box, 8042 Zurich, phone +41 (0)44 360 14 14, fax +41 (0)44 360 14 60, www.youthhostel.ch, [email protected]. Promotion of youth and family travel, accommodation for individual travellers, groups, schools and families.
Thermal Spas and Health Hotels Switzerland Bahnhofstrasse 2, 9100 Herisau, phone +41 (0)71 350 14 14, fax +41 (0)71 350 14 18, www.kuren.ch, www.thermenschweiz.ch, [email protected]. Representing the interests of thermal spas, convalescent homes, clinics of rehabilitation and health hotels.
Public corporations Swiss Association for Hotel Credit (SGH) Uetlibergstrasse 134b, P.O. Box, 8027 Zurich, phone +41 (0)44 209 16 16, fax +41 (0)44 209 16 17, www.sgh.ch, [email protected]. Financing, appraisals, consulting.
Switzerland Tourism (ST) Tödistrasse 7, 8027 Zurich, phone +41 (0)44 288 11 11, fax +41 (0)44 288 12 05, www.MySwitzerland.com, [email protected]. Offices in 26 countries. Increase the demand for Switzerland as a travel, holiday and congress destination.
58 TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
Federal institutes State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO Tourism policy, Holzikofenweg 36, 3003 Bern, phone +41 (0)58 462 27 58, www.seco.admin.ch, [email protected]. Central federal authority for national and international tourism policies.
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) Tourism section, Espace de l‘Europe 10, 2010 Neuchâtel, phone +41 (0)58 467 24 40, fax +41 (0)58 463 62 15, www.tourismus.bfs.admin.ch, [email protected]. To provide statistics on Swiss tourism (surveys on infrastructure, arrivals and overnight stays in hotels, holiday homes, group accomodation and camping places, tourism balance of payments, tourism satellite account and travel behavior).
Institutes of higher education Institute of Tourism ITW (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) Rösslimatte 48, P.O. Box 2940, 6002 Lucerne, phone +41 (0)41 228 41 45, fax +41 (0)41 228 41 44, www.hslu.ch/itw, [email protected]. Study programmes and further education, applied research and consultation in the fields of destination management, sports & events, wellness and health, sustainability, e-tourism, leisure and tourism-related traffic and public transportation.
Institute for Tourism (ITO), HES-SO Valais (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland) TechnoPôle 3, 3960 Sierre, phone +41 (0)27 606 90 01, fax +41 (0)27 606 90 00, www.hevs.ch, [email protected]. BSc study programmes and further education, applied research and consulting especially in digital transformation and online marketing, monitoring and management tools in tourism (observatory), service design, market research and market intelligence.
Institute for Tourism and Leisure (ITF) at the University of Applied Sciences HTW Chur Comercialstrasse 22, 7000 Chur, phone +41 (0)81 286 24 24, fax +41 (0)81 286 39 49, www.itf.ch, [email protected]. BSc (full- and part-time) and MSc study programmes as well as further education (CAS, DAS, MAS) in tourism and leisure management. Applied research and consultancy in the areas of service innovation, Tourism 4.0, and the management of tourism real estate and infrastructure, taking into account sustainable development.
Research Unit Tourism (CRED-T) in the Center for Regional Economic Development, University of Bern Schanzeneckstrasse 1, P.O. Box, 3001 Bern, phone +41 (0)31 631 37 11, www.cred-t.unibe.ch, [email protected]. Academic teaching, research and services, in particular concerning regional development, experience economy and tourism, macroeconomics and tourism as well as environmental economics and tourism. 59 TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
International Tourism Organisations European Travel Commission (ETC) Rue du Marché aux Herbes 61, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, phone +32 2 502 01 13, fax +32 2 514 18 43, www.etc-corporate.org, www.visiteurope.com, [email protected].
EUROSTAT Joseph Bech Building, 5, rue Alphonse Weicker, 2721 Luxembourg, phone +35 2 4301 1, fax +35 2 4301 35349, www.ec.europa.eu/eurostat, [email protected].
Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe (HOTREC) 36-38 Rue Dautzenberg, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, phone +32 2 548 90 00, fax +32 2 502 41 73, www.hotrec.eu, [email protected].
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Calle Capitán Haya 42, 28020 Madrid, Spain, phone +34 91 567 81 00, fax +34 91 253 40 36, www.unwto.org, [email protected]. FSC-Label