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Foreign demand weakens as overnight stays in Switzerland drop: report

Xinhua, February 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Some 35.6 million overnight stays were recorded last year in Swiss hotels, 305,000 fewer than in 2014, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reported on Tuesday.

Representing a year on year drop of 0.8 percent, FSO said that the end of the minimum exchange rate between the Swiss Franc and the euro influenced foreign demand, particularly from Europe.

Indeed, the number of European nocturnal stays in Switzerland dropped by 1.2 million last year, a 9.3 percent decrease compared to 2014.

"With a total of 11.8 million overnight stays in 2015, one would have to return to 1958 to find a lower result for European customers," FSO said in a statement.

At the other end of the spectrum, the number of Chinese nationals staying in Switzerland represented the greatest absolute increase, with an additional 344,000 stays generated last year.

Overall, 19.6 million overnight stays were generated by foreigners last year, 331,000 fewer (1.7 percent drop) than in 2014.

The number of Swiss visitors (16.1 million) remained relatively stable, up 0.2 percent from 2014.

December 2015 saw 2.5 million hotel stays in Switzerland, a 5.6 percent decline compared to the same period two years ago. Endit