Off the wire
• Ghana's oil giant slashes planned loan due to falling crude prices  • 1st LD Writethru: Warring factions of Central African Republic ink peace deals in Kenya  • 3 killed in Saudi-led airstrikes on Houthi stronghold in Yemen's capital  • Warring factions of Central African Republic ink peace deals in Kenya  • Mugabe proposes fair deal for Africa at UN  • French stock market index down 0.28 pct on Wednesday  • China launches WTO litigation over EU poultry meat tariff quota dispute  • Security forces kill 9 militants in Pakistan's Karachi  • Eurozone's economy expected to recover slightly: think tanks  • Spotlight: Which is good for global agriculture development, EU model or U.S. one?  
You are here: 　 Home

Swiss 2015 tourism figures on rise: report

Xinhua, April 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

According to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Wednesday, 3.1 million overnights hotel stays were registered in Switzerland during February 2015, marking a 6 percent increase compared to February 2014.

A total of 1.5 million overnight stays were accounted for by Swiss nationals, representing an 8.4 percent increase compared to February 2014. The remaining 1.6 million nocturnal stays were registered by foreigners, marking a 3.8 percent increase.

According to FSO indications, the average percentage of occupied beds for January and February 2015 stood at 40.7 percent.

Germany remains the country from where most tourists come, with 240,996 registered arrivals for January and February 2015.

China represents the country with the highest increase of overnight stays in Switzerland, with 116,466 overnight stays for January and February 2015 compared to 87,874 for the same period in 2014.

The number of Chinese arrivals has also increased drastically, from 38,542 in February 2014 to 61,291 in February 2015, according to the FSO.

According to local officials, this trend is especially important for Switzerland as Chinese tourists, despite relatively short layovers, tend to spend more money on average than their foreign counterparts.

These positive figures come amid pessimistic economic prospects as GDP growth for 2015 and 2016 is expected to reach 0.9 percent and 1.8 percent respectively, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, compared to an annual GDP growth of 2.0 percent in 2014.

The tourism sector also predicted increased cancellations and reduced bookings for 2015, following the Swiss National Bank's decision to revalue the Swiss Franc in January this year and the subsequent appreciation of the Swiss Franc.

Though these concerns have not materialized, it is still too early to determine what the long-term ramifications will be for the Swiss tourist industry, analysts said. Endti