Switzerland is a big hit with Americans! According to tourism data from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, U.S. arrivals and overnights increased again in 2017 compared to the previous year. This marks the eight consecutive year of increasing visitor numbers from the U.S. to Switzerland, with a total growth of almost 50% since 2009, making 2017 the second-best year in over 25 years (only year 2000 was better).
The latest numbers show an increase of 12.1% in U.S. arrivals in Switzerland in 2017, for a total of 957,796. According to final 2017 figures, the number of overnight stays was 2.05 million, an increase of 11.5% compared to 2016 (only overnights in Swiss hotels and Youth Hostels; vacation homes, other kinds of accommodation and visits with friends and family are not included).
The most popular destinations were the Zurich Region with 550,789, the Lake Lucerne Region 281,978 and the Geneva Region 275,523 overnights. With 65,216 more overnights in 2017, the Zurich Region recorded the biggest growth in U.S. visits.
“American travelers are very welcome in Switzerland, and we’re so happy to see greater numbers of visitors from the U.S. every year,” said Alex Herrmann, Director North America, Switzerland Tourism. “Over the last 18 months, we have introduced a new travel agent training program, published our first winter sales manual, increased our presence at travel trade conferences, and hired an additional sales- and marketing person for our office in New York, with a focus on the Swiss Travel System, the transportation network of Switzerland. This increased investment in serving and collaborating with the travel trade in North America is paying off.”