Swiss tourism balance with negative balance in 2021

In 2021, foreign guests in Switzerland generated revenue of CHF 10.1 billion, according to the tourism balance sheet published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Tuesday.

That was 5.5 percent more than in the Corona year 2020, but compared to 2019 sales were still 44 percent lower.

On the other hand, the Swiss spent around 10.7 billion francs on trips abroad. That was 13 percent more than in 2020. But here, too, spending at 43 percent was well below the values ​​before the corona crisis. After all, due to the ongoing pandemic, travel was only possible with restrictions last year.

Since expenditure increased more significantly than income, the balance of tourism slipped into the red according to BFS estimates. It amounted to -605 million after +129 million francs in 2020. In previous years, too, a positive balance was mostly reported.

With the waning of the corona pandemic, tourism picked up again over the course of the past year. According to the BSF, the number of foreign guests in Switzerland increased continuously from April onwards compared to 2020. This has led to an increase in overnight stays with foreign tourists, although here too the number is still well below the record value of 2019.

While travel with overnight stays by foreign guests has increased by around 13 percent compared to 2020, travel without overnight stays has decreased again, it is said. For the Swiss economy, the decline in trips without overnight stays means a minus of 260 million francs.

Meanwhile, according to the FSO, overnight stays in Switzerland with local guests climbed to a record level. And business with trips abroad also picked up: in 2021, the Swiss spent 6.3 billion francs on trips with overnight stays abroad. This is an increase of 13 percent over the previous year.

In addition, shopping tourism picked up some momentum again from the second quarter. Spending by the Swiss for trips without overnight stays rose by 14 percent to CHF 4.4 billion.