Americans are #InLoveWithSwitzerland. More Americans are traveling to Switzerland, visiting cities and mountain regions alike. U.S. arrivals and overnights increased again in 2016 compared to the previous year. For the seventh consecutive year, there has been an increase, showing total growth of more than 30% since 2009.

“Switzerland is the best country in the world, according to a recent study by U.S. News & World Report. This will hopefully motivate even more Americans to find their way – or their way back – to Switzerland,“ said Alex Herrmann, Director Americas, Switzerland Tourism.

Successful 2016 for Switzerland:

• An increase of 6.5% in U.S. arrivals in Switzerland, for a total of 854’687.
• The number of overnight stays from the U.S. in 2016 was 1,84 million, an increase of 5.5% compared to 2015 (only arrivals and overnights in Swiss hotels are counted; vacation homes, other kinds of accommodation and visits with friends and family are not included).

Most Popular in 2016:

• #1: Zurich Region, #2: Geneva Region, #3: Lake Lucerne Region
• Biggest growth: the Valais Region with 10.2% more U.S. overnights in 2016.
• Americans love the mountains: In addition to the Valais Region, which includes Zermatt, the Bernese Oberland and Graubuenden grew the most with 8.1% more overnights on average compared to the previous year.

 

Source: Tourism data from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics.

Questions: Please contact Alex Herrmann, Director Americas