An increase of 2.2%: Switzerland’s cities experienced further growth in 2019. This is the 10th year in a row. According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 19.25 million overnights were generated in Swiss cities. That’s almost every second overnight in Switzerland (48.7%). According to Tourism Monitor Switzerland (TMS) 2017, the five most commonly mentioned reasons for taking city breaks in Switzerland are: the special urban feeling, family-friendliness, the extraordinary natural attractions, the chance to relax and, in the fifth place, nature itself. This mix makes the Swiss cities quite unique and is promoted by Switzerland Tourism ST under the claim “Swiss urban feeling. Boutique towns.”

 

According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 19.25 million overnights were generated in a Swiss city. That’s almost every second overnight registered in Switzerland (48.7%).

Basel street art in Berlin
9.2% of all visitors who stay overnight in Swiss cities come from Germany. This makes them the second biggest visitor group after domestic tourists (35.5%). The ST regional office in Berlin launched the city campaign in the German market in 2019, together with seven city partners.

One of the partners and ambassadors for the Swiss cities was Basel, which drew attention with a graffiti-covered Bentley from the Basel Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois. This motorised object d’art is the perfect embodiment of a specifically Swiss urban feeling. At the same time, the limousine represents the diverse nature of the Basel art scene: here, you’ll find graffiti and street artists wherever you look, as their art form can be admired free of charge on almost every street corner. The ST key story “Street Art in Basel” shows this very clearly. Over 30 journalists participated in the media event, leading immediately to one million media contacts in Germany.

Advertising campaign with Expedia generates 270,000 hotel overnights in the cities
Working with Expedia, ST published tips from 21 city partners online in Europe and the US. These “Swiss urban feeling” tips, for example swimming in the Aare river in the middle of Bern, were individually tailored to the individual markets. This approach paid off: cooperation with Expedia meant that the advertising campaign got 19.8 million views on Expedia’s pages. This generated bookings for 270,000 overnight stays, representing a total tourism turnover of CHF 63.5 million.

Facts and figures
Cities
  2019 2018
Budget CHF million 10.8 10.8
Share of total budget % 12.9 11.7
Target markets CH, CN, DE, ES, FR, IN, IT, JP, UK, US (with CA), AUT, BRA
Page views MySwitzerland.com*   3.6 million 954,066
Top advertising and marketing contacts million 498 877
Media contacts (readers, viewers, listeners) billion 5.64 4.22
Top Media Articles   1,145 968
Participants on ST press trips   693 1,012
Overnight stays influenced by KAM million 0.9 1
*Only views to pages with specific content for the cities campaign are counted.