In 2023, guests came to Swiss hotels in droves.
Keystone/Peter Klaunzer
Switzerland Tourism has taken stock of the first three years since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Additional recovery funds have helped to mitigate the effects of the health crisis and stabilise the industry.
A total of CHF49 million ($53.5 million) over three years has been allocated to the recovery programme, including CHF9.2 million in 2023, said the body responsible for promoting Switzerland as a tourist destination in its annual report on Thursday.
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A key element has been the development of sustainable tourism, for which the “Swisstainable” label has been applied since 2021, and which absorbed 42% of the budget in 2023. Another major expenditure was promotion in nearby markets, to which a third of the funds were devoted. Thanks to this additional funding, it was also possible to roll out campaigns featuring celebrities such as Roger Federer on a large scale.
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The recovery programme ended with an unprecedented 42 million overnight stays in 2023, boosted by the return of foreign guests.
In its annual accounts, Switzerland Tourism reports income from contributions of CHF66.31 million, of which CHF57.44 million comes from the federal government. The budget also includes miscellaneous income and services invoiced to third parties, as well as marketing income, bringing the total to CHF102.82 million.
On the cost side, personnel costs rose slightly to CHF30.34 million from CHF30.05 million a year earlier, for an average of around 250 full-time equivalent positions over the year. Marketing costs totalled CHF68.22 million, slightly above the budget of CHF66.45 million. Other expenses came to CHF4.07 million.
Adapted from French by DeepL/kc/amva
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