Tourism: Local guests could not save autumn season
According to a national survey conducted by Switzerland Tourism in the fall, the mountain regions recorded a 15 to 20 percent increase in overnight stays by local guests. However, this did not compensate for the absence of foreign tourists.
Autumn has become much more important for tourism in recent years, especially for spontaneous discovery trips. Since 2018, Switzerland Tourism (ST) has therefore been conducting international autumn campaigns, such as the foliage tracker, and analyzing developments in the colorful off-season. According to the results of an industry survey conducted by ST at the end of October, the 2020 fall season, which includes September and October, will have an overall negative overnight stay balance at the national level. For the two fall months, mountain destinations and Ticino reported a large influx of Swiss guests. This had a positive impact, with an increase in overnight stays of 15 to 20 percent. However, all these regions note that guest numbers from neighboring European countries fell sharply in the fall.
In the summer, these figures were much more satisfactory. In particular, the travel restrictions to Switzerland introduced by Belgium and Germany had a major impact. Thus, the decline in overnight stays by foreign tourists expected for this fall will be greater than in the summer months (-55 percent, compared to the previous year). Day-trippers (admissions to attractions and excursions) showed a similar trend, with a 10 percent increase for domestic visitors and a nearly 50 percent decrease for foreign visitors. Beginning in mid-October, many suppliers experienced a sharp decline in bookings and attendance. This is due to the drastic increase in travel restrictions, the start of the "second wave" of the pandemic, combined with bad weather and snowfall.
Overall decline in hotel overnight stays in September
The trends on the course of the autumn season shown in the ST survey are confirmed by the official hotel overnight stays figures for the month of September from the Federal Statistical Office: The figures show that the nationwide increase in hotel overnight stays by Swiss guests (+20.6%) cannot compensate for the massive decline in foreign guests (-68.5%), resulting in a total decrease of 28.1 percent. The only three regions to achieve a total increase in hotel room nights are Ticino (+15.1%), Grisons (+14.6%) and Eastern Switzerland (+3.7%). Optimistically, however, an increase in length of stay of 10.5 percent was recorded in September 2020 compared to September 2019.
The decreases in the large urban regions, influenced by the almost complete absence of tourists from distant countries and the slowdown in business tourism, can be described as dramatic. In Geneva it is - 73.9 percent, in Zurich - 63.3 percent and in Basel - 50.2 percent. The situation of tourism providers in cities has further worsened with the introduction of stricter protective measures by the federal government and cantons, with no prospect of an early resumption of event, business and congress tourism.
Hiking and cycling more and more popular
The tourism service providers in the mountain regions surveyed by ST confirm the significant trends for Swiss guests that emerged in the summer: This group of guests is increasingly frequenting other language regions of the country. Graubünden and eastern Switzerland in particular continue to record a steady increase in the number of guests from French-speaking Switzerland. Due to the uncertainties associated with the travel restrictions, bookings continue to be made at shorter notice. As a result of the pandemic, various service providers have noticed the absence of groups, such as associations, clubs and schools, which has also had a negative impact on bus company revenues.
Outdoor sports such as hiking, mountain biking and cycling have been very popular with the Swiss this fall, as Anke Lock, manager of The Cambrian hotel in Adelboden, points out: "Guests have taken up the hiking packages and cycling offers more than ever before. The sports stores at our destination have experienced a record summer and fall." In Ticino, too, where autumn is playing an increasingly important role in tourism, guests prefer excursions on foot or by bike.
Good season for apartments and cottages
Providers specializing in vacation home rentals, such as Interhome, report a good fall season: "In the last five months, we have seen a doubling of bookings from Swiss customers compared to the same period in 2019," says Interhome spokeswoman Bianca Gähweiler. This strong increase in bookings is also reflected on the vacation home booking platform E-domizil, which saw a 158 percent increase in bookings in Switzerland between September and November 2020 compared to 2019.
