It's not the Chinese or Indians who are boosting tourism, but Americans
According to Switzerland Tourism, visitors from the U.S. are the real «drivers of growth.».
A particularly large number of guests from North America are currently visiting Switzerland. According to the marketing organization Switzerland Tourism, the USA is the most important overseas market for Swiss tourism. With 2.3 million overnight stays in hotels, US guests were the second largest group of tourists to Switzerland last year after Germany. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to growth of 10 percent, and 42 percent compared to 2013. According to SonntagsZeitung, Switzerland Tourism is forecasting further growth of 7.5% by 2022.
The reasons for the boom: the US economy is performing well, enabling wealthy citizens - Switzerland Tourism's target audience - to travel abroad. New direct flights are also boosting the influx. Zermatt is particularly popular with Americans - US overnight stays in the Valais resort have more than doubled since 2009.
US guests are particularly popular in the tourism industry. At CHF 280 per day, they spend significantly more than the average (CHF 160). Although this is also significantly less than guests from the Gulf States (CHF 420), tourists from North America usually do not need any additional infrastructure, as many things are already written in English, for example.
For Americans, on the other hand, Switzerland is a popular destination because it is safe and everything works according to plan. When the vacation schedule is tight and you want to see and experience a lot in a short space of time, punctuality and reliability pay off.
