Switzerland Tourism Presents Winning Numbers for 2015

23 February 2016
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Switzerland might be small, but it is going strong in America. According to recently released tourism data from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, U.S. arrivals and overnights increased again in 2015 compared to the previous year. This marks the sixth consecutive year of increasing visitor numbers from the U.S. to Switzerland, with a total growth of more than 20% since 2009.SWITZERLAND - SOMMER

The latest numbers show an increase of 6.8% in U.S. arrivals in Switzerland, for a total of 802,503. According to final 2015 figures, the number of overnight stays was 1.74 million, an increase of 5.7% compared to 2014 (only overnights in Swiss hotels are counted; vacation homes, other kinds of accommodation and visits with friends and family are not included).

The most popular destinations were the Zurich Region with 450,368 overnights, the Geneva Region (255,443) and the Lake Lucerne Region (249,238). With 16.6% more overnights in 2015, the Bern Region recorded the biggest growth in U.S. visits.

“American travelers are in love with Switzerland”, said Alex Herrmann, Director Americas, Switzerland Tourism. "The recent numbers support a positive trend that has been developing over the past five years: Since 2010, Switzerland has been able to report a continuous increase in overnights from the U.S. every year, from roughly 1,400,000 to almost 1,740,000.”

The economy did it’s bit towards the success: The US Dollar is currently on parity with the Swiss Franc, meaning that the dollar is 10% more valuable in Switzerland than three years ago – and 4% more valuable than five years ago. Herrmann: “In other words, Switzerland is 10% less expensive for American travelers than three years ago just because of the exchange rate.”

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