Spectacular views and the beautiful models of the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue are not all Switzerland Tourism has to celebrate this year. The numbers for 2013 are in and they are golden! Overnights for this beautiful Alpine country are up again, for the fourth consecutive year, with an increase of four percent over 2012 for a total of 1,585,467 overnights by U.S. Americans (only overnights in Swiss hotels are counted; vacations homes, other kinds of accommodation and visits with friends and family are not included).
Arrivals also increased over 2012 by a total of 4.7 percent and the average stay was 2.2 days. The excellent results locked in America’s eight percent market share of all foreign overnights in Switzerland, and its fourth place after the Swiss themselves, the United Kingdom and Germany which, of course, don’t require overseas flights. Americans spent on average about 220 Swiss Francs, or $250, per day for a total spending of almost $400 million, a sizeable contribution to Switzerland’s annual tourism revenue.
"In 2013, once again, an increasing number of American travelers visited Switzerland. Particularly exciting is the fact that the strongest growth was recorded in the mountain regions of Switzerland. We are very excited to see Americans rediscover the Swiss Alps!" said Alex Herrmann, Director Americas, Switzerland Tourism.
The most popular places for Americans were the Zürich Region with 419,578; the Geneva Region with 230,104 and the Lake Lucerne Region with 227,044 overnights. The largest increase came from the Graubünden, widely known for the resorts of St. Moritz and Davos as well as the Bernina and Glacier Express scenic train excursions.
These numbers support a positive trend that has been developing over the past four years. Since 2010, Switzerland Tourism has had an increase in overnights from the U.S. from roughly 140,000 to almost 160,000.
Even though Switzerland is revered for some of the best skiing in the world and the birth place of winter tourism 150 years ago, the Alpine peaks are also attractive in summer and two-thirds of Americans go to Switzerland in the summer months. This year’s summer theme: "Views. Swiss Made" highlights the incredible hiking, walking and biking opportunities in the summer time in the Alps or along the beautiful lakes.