Two years back, Switzerland was facing a rather unique problem: The country’s sound fiscal practices had made its currency too strong for other currencies (for example, the euro and the American dollar) to trade and exchange with it, negatively affecting its tourism industry. By the summer of 2011, the country's central bank took action to ease the pressure on the Swiss economy caused by the super-strong franc, which had soared to record highs as debt crises buffeted the United States and Europe.
Flash forward to 2013, and Switzerland's latest numbers are much more optimistic. While the Swiss Franc has remained strong, U.S. arrivals and overnights increased in 2012 compared to the previous year. Recently released tourism data from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics for the hotel industry show an increase of 2.7 percent in U.S. arrivals in Switzerland, for a total of 687,042. According to final 2012 figures, the number of overnight stays registered in Swiss hotels was 1.525 million, an increase of 2.2 percent compared to 2011.
Alex Herrmann, director Americas for Switzerland Tourism, told Travel Agent that the Swiss National Bank guarantees an minimum exchange rate of 1.20 CHF per Euro, in order to ensure that the Euro loses more value against the Swiss Franc. "With regards to the United States dollar, the exchange rate with the Swiss Franc was somewhat stable in 2012," he said. "However, over the last year, Switzerland overall lost 2 percent in overnights (and at the same time recorded a slight increase in the arrivals of 0.4 percent) compared to the year before, and this was mainly due to the European countries which lost more than the growth of the domestic market and the overseas market was able to compensate over the same period."
Travelers from the U.S. in 2012 accounted for 8 percent of all nights spent in Swiss hotels by international guests, he added, noting that all figures apply only to hotels and do not factor in alternative accommodations (such as B&Bs or vacation homes).
With regards to hotel arrivals, the U.S. is the second most important foreign market for Switzerland (after Germany), and with regards to overnights, the third most important (after Germany and the UK). “We expected a slight minus for 2012 due to the continually weak United States dollar to the Swiss Franc. We were positively surprised by the strong demand from the U.S. especially for the Swiss cities and some Alpine resorts,” Herrmann said in a statement.
The top five destinations for the U.S. were Zurich, Geneva, Lake Lucerne, Bernese Oberland and Basel Region. The biggest growth of American visitors was recorded in Interlaken and the Jungfrau Region.