Vision
Swiss tourism is currently enjoying great prosperity across the country. Healthy margins are being achieved by both flagship enterprises with international reach as well as smaller choice tourism providers, thus generating the capacity for new vitality and innovation.

In 2022, the tourism industry had to cope with not just one or two crises, but eight: In addition to the ongoing pandemic, there were uncertainties regarding energy supply and supply chains, the shortage of skilled workers, war in Europe, currency and inflation concerns, and climate change resulting in heat waves and drought. Fears were high that the tourism boom in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic would be nipped in the bud by the multiple crises. In retrospect, however, the Swiss tourism industry has proven to be extremely resilient: The Federal Statistical Office counted over 38.2 million hotel overnight stays in 2022, equating to 96.7% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

There are several reasons for this good performance. The stronger positioning of Switzerland as a destination in the area of sustainability is likely to be one of them. Because the green transformation of the tourism sector is not only good for the planet, but also for tourism itself. It serves to strengthen competitiveness and increase resilience, as noted by UNWTO in its World Tourism Day Report 2022. But why does more sustainability strengthen the resilience of the Swiss tourism industry? One answer comes from the Switzerland Tourism ST survey as part of the Tourism Monitor Switzerland: According to this, guests associate sustainability with high quality. That is why they accept higher prices and are also willing to pay them. This is crucial for Switzerland as a premium destination.

ST set the course for a strong sustainable positioning in 2021 with the launch of the sustainability initiative Swisstainable. The timing was right, with the Covid-19 pandemic heightening awareness of the need for greater sustainability among guests and the industry. In 2022, Swisstainable has now arrived in the industry: ST recorded an important success, for example, with its partnership with Kuoni Tumlare, which for the first time allowed explicitly sustainable tourism experiences and offers in Switzerland to be booked worldwide. By the end of 2022, over 1,500 tourism service providers have joined the Swisstainable programme. Over 1,200 restaurants participated in the Swisstainable Veggie Day. Numerous individual projects implemented in 2022 also strengthened the image of Switzerland as a sustainable destination and thus helped to secure the nationwide prosperity of Swiss tourism in the long term.

Brigitta M. Gadient
President of Switzerland Tourism