The hotel industry in Switzerland recorded 22.4 million overnight stays in the summer season (May to October 2022). Compared to the same period of the previous year, overnight stays increased by 21.9% (+4.0 million overnight stays). With a total of 10.4 million overnight stays, foreign demand increased by 84.6% (+4.8 million). As for the native demand, it decreased by 6.0% (−762,000) and reached 11.9 million units. These are the provisional results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
During the summer season (May to October) 2022, demand remained positive compared to the same months last year. The strongest growth was observed in June (+57.3%) and May (+37.5%). Over the past 30 years, the 2022 summer season has posted the second-best result after 2019. The months of September and October are even the strongest in terms of overnight stays since 1992. Excluding 2019, the months of July and August also saw a record number of overnight stays over the past 3 decades. By way of comparison, the 2022 summer season shows a 1.3% drop in overnight stays compared to the same period in 2019 (pre-Covid-19 period).
Lower native demand
In the 2022 summer season, native overnight stays fell by 6.0% (compared to the same period in 2021) to 11.9 million overnight stays. This decline is explained by the historically high level of demand from Swiss customers in 2021. In 2022, domestic demand is negative for all months of the summer season, except for the month of June which shows an increase of 6, 9%. August saw the largest relative and absolute drop in native overnight stays (−13.5%/−349,000). The months of May (−7.8%), July (−8.4%), as well as September (−4.4%), and October (−4.9%), also saw a drop in overnight stays compared to 2021 but were less pronounced. On the other hand, compared to the summer season before Covid-19 in 2019, the increase amounts to 21.3%.
Strong recovery in foreign demand
During the 2022 summer season, foreign demand increased sharply (+84.6%) compared to the same period in 2021. All the months of this period saw strong increases in overnight stays; for the months of May and June, they are particularly significant (+250.7%, respectively +240.1%). This is explained by foreign demand which was still particularly low a year earlier. Despite these increases, the 2022 summer season shows a decline in overnight stays of 18.6% compared to 2019.
In terms of guest origins, demand during the summer season was strongly positive for all continents compared to the same months in 2021. European customers increased by 1.9 million overnight stays (+41.9% ). With an increase of 501,000 overnight stays (+248.2%), customers from the United Kingdom experienced the strongest growth on this continent. It is followed by Germany (+378,000/+21.3%) and France (+144,000/+24.6%). The American (+1.5 million overnight stays/+256.5%) and Asian (+1.2 million/+221.3%) continents also experienced strong growth. Within the Americas, guests from the United States recorded the strongest absolute growth in overnight stays (+1.2 million/+273.7%). The Gulf countries (+287,000/+84.3%) and India (+225,000/+466.4%) posted the largest absolute increases among Asian countries.
Increase in overnight stays in most tourist regions
During the 2022 summer season, ten out of thirteen tourist regions are experiencing an increase in overnight stays compared to the same period of the previous year. The increases vary from +1.3% for Eastern Switzerland to +81.6% for the Zurich Region. Of all the tourist regions, Ticino experienced the largest drop in overnight stays (−14.9%). It is followed by Jura & Trois-Lacs (−3.3%) and Graubünden (−3.0%).
Domestic demand between May and October 2022 was down in eight out of thirteen tourist regions compared to 2021. Ticino saw the largest drop in visitor numbers from Switzerland (−31.0%), followed by Graubünden (−16 .5%) and Valais (−13.7%) compared to the same months in 2021. For its part, the Zurich Region (+48.5%) experienced the strongest relative increase. Compared to the same period in 2019, domestic demand is up in all tourist regions, ranging from +13.3% for the Aargau and Solothurn Region to +31.7% for the Bern Region. For foreign demand, overnight stays are growing strongly in all tourist regions compared to 2021. The Bern Region leads with a jump of 122.3%.
