Record number of stays in hotels in Switzerland, but many accommodation under pressure

The Tourism Statistics Office ) Swiss hotel industry registered almost 44 million overnight stays during 2025. Generally, tourism is doing well, but these figures only indicate part of history.

Swiss tourism on the rise, but challenges remain

In 2025, almost 44 million local and foreign visitors stayed in hotels and accommodation in Switzerland. This growth is welcome, but the director of Swiss Tourism, Martin Nydegger, warns that tourism management is becoming increasingly important. The goal is not always to have more visitors, but visitors who stay longer and are better distributed during the year and in regions,” he said at a press conference.

Main figure for 2025

A 2.6% increase compared to last year was registered at night.

About half of their positions, about 21 million, were among the Swiss visitors. Nydegger stressed: “Despite strong Swiss franc and temptation for cheaper holidays abroad, Swiss visitors remain with us.” Visitors from Switzerland prefer mostly city hotels.

Visitors from Europe registered 12.7 million positions (+3.9%), being the second largest segment. Next are visitors from the United States and Canada. US projections are not very optimistic about the coming years because of the economic situation and the uncertain situation there. For Canada, the situation is more positive: “The Canadians are no longer so keen to travel towards the US. Hence, they can choose Andrimat instead of Aston Martin, Verbyer instead of Vail. ”

Visitors from Asia scored a slight increase last year, but compared to 2019, the number has dropped 18.1%. The Chinese visitors' positions dropped one third compared to 2019.

Compared to 2019, before pandemic, stays in hotels increased by 11%, mainly because of Swiss and American visitors, while Asian markets fell by 18%.

Forecasts for 2026

Switzerland Tourism hosts a stop in tourism for 2026. Switzerland benefits from its reputation as a safe place with quality tourist infrastructure. The main priorities remain to preserve this attraction, focusing on quality, regional balance and sustainable travel.

Martin Nydegger stressed that tourism management is becoming increasingly important: some “destinations are facing many visitors, and seasonal and regional changes bring challenges. ”

Hotels: Positive results, but challenges remain

Martin von Moos, president of the Hotellere Suisse, said: “The rise of overnight stays shows that demand remains high.” The hotel filling rate rose slightly, from 49.4% to 51.1%.

However, for businesses, other indicators are equally important -- costs, regional and seasonal distribution, as well as price trends. Revenues for overnight stays are under pressure, costs are rising, and many accommodations are facing pressure on profits, despite a record year. The staff's situation remains challenging./Periscopi/