Recovery not yet in sight – Ukraine conflict dampens tourism in Switzerland

– Ukraine conflict dampens tourism in Switzerland

The forecasts for Swiss tourism were actually good, but the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is thwarting the industry’s plans.

– Published: 02/24/2022, 17:17—

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Actually, the tourism industry could still hope for a recovery until Wednesday. But the corona pandemic has hardly flattened out before the next crisis hits: The conflict in Ukraine threatens to burden the business again.

“The tragic situation dampens the joy that we would actually have,” said Switzerland Tourism Director Martin Nydegger at the annual media conference on Thursday. Because Russian guests are wealthy customers for Switzerland.

In the years before Corona, Russians booked 360,000 overnight stays, which corresponds to a market share of 1.7 percent among foreign tourists. And even in 2021, despite travel restrictions, they still accounted for 100,000 overnight stays. The lack of guests could be particularly noticeable in the cities of Zurich and Geneva, but also in the winter sports resort of St. Moritz, which is particularly popular with Russian guests.

The loss caused by the Ukrainian guests seems to be manageable: they make up far less than one percent of the number of guests and are not among the main markets for Swiss incoming tourism.

Are guests from overseas missing again this season?

The problem alone is not only that Russian and Ukrainian guests could be absent this season, but also the signal effect that such a conflict can have: “A geopolitical conflict emanates a lot of uncertainties. There is a risk that people will get scared and stop traveling,” says Nydegger.

Tourists from overseas, such as the USA, could be deterred from traveling to Europe by the current conflict. ‘They might fear that there was war all over Europe. That slows down the recovery in the distant markets again, »said the Switzerland Tourism Director.

In addition, the tourism organization expects that as the pandemic subsides, the Swiss will increasingly be vacationing abroad again. Because of Corona, many Swiss people increasingly booked their stay at home.

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“People are very keen to travel, and at the moment price fluctuations – as long as they are manageable – are not an obstacle,” says Nydegger. If the conflict in Ukraine escalates further, commodity prices could shoot up even more. Flight tickets in particular could then become more expensive.