Tourism in Switzerland

History

Tourism began in Switzerland with British mountaineers climbing the main peaks of the Bernese Alps in the early 19th century.

The Alpine Club in London was founded in 1857. Reconvalescence in the Alpine, in particular from tuberculosis, was another important branch of tourism in the 19th and early 20th centuries: for example in Davos, Graubünden. Due to the prominence of the Bernese Alps in British mountaineering, the Bernese Oberland was long especially known as a tourist destination. Meiringen's Reichenbach Falls achieved literary fame as the site of the fictional death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (1893). The first organised tourist holidays to Switzerland were offered during the 19th century by Thomas Cook and Lunn Travel companies. Tourism in Switzerland had been exclusively for the rich until it became widely popular in the 20th century.

Notable tourist destinations in Switzerland

;Large cities

• Basel
• Bern
• Geneva
• Lausanne
• Lucerne
• Zurich

;Smaller cities

• Biel/Bienne
• Chur
• Fribourg
• Interlaken
• La Chaux-de-Fonds
• Lugano
• Montreux
• Neuchâtel
• Rapperswil
• Schaffhausen
• Sion
• Solothurn
• St. Gallen
• Thun

;Small towns and villages

• Arbon
• Ascona
• Baden
• Bremgarten
• Gruyères
• Delémont
• Kaiseraugst
• Le Locle
• Morcote
• Murten
• Quinten
• Regensberg
• Rheinau
• Romont
• Stein am Rhein

; Resorts in the Alps

; Natural regions

• Bernese Alps (notably Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau), with glaciers (notably the Aletsch Glacier), deep valleys (e.g. Aare Gorge, Lauterbrunnental), waterfalls (e.g. Mürrenbach Falls, Staubbach Falls), lakes (e.g. Oeschinen Lake) and caves
• Valais Alps and Chablais Alps (on the left side of the Rhone valley), contain the highest mountains of the Alps (notably Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn on the border with Italy), ski resorts like Zermatt, and a waterfall in a cave
• Gotthard Massif, with the Gotthard Pass at its heart, notable for the historic Gotthard routes (north–south axis), the Matterhorn Gotthard railway (west–east axis) and the many other high road passes (Nufenen, Grimsel, Furka, Susten, Klausen, Oberalp and Lukmanier)
• Grison Alps, with the Engadin Valley or Lake Cauma
• Eastern Switzerland, with Alpstein (Mount Säntis, Ebenalp, Seealpsee) and Churfirsten mountain ranges, Tamina Gorge, Lake Constance, the second largest lake in the country (bordering Austria and Germany) and Lake Walen
• Lake Lucerne, the largest lake in central Switzerland, notable for the many mountain railways in the surrounding mountains, notably the Rigi and Pilatus Railway
• Lake Geneva, the largest lake in the country, notable for the Riviera and the many vineyards
• Seeland, the region of Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Biel and Lake Morat
• Jura Mountains and Table Jura, a moderately elevated mountainous region north of the Swiss Plateau (e.g. Chasseral, Creux du Van, Lägern, Randen)
• Rhine (Alpine Rhine, High Rhine), the largest river in the country, is notable for the Rhine Falls and Ruinaulta
• Italian Lakes, a group of lakes on the Italian border (lakes Maggiore and Lugano), notable for being the warmest place in the country

|File:"Zytglogge" tower in Berne, Switzerland.jpg | Bern Old City with the Zytglogge |File:Limmat River.jpg|Limmat in Zürich |File:Jet d'eau - Mont Blanc.jpg | Geneva Jet d'Eau with Mont Blanc |File:Aletschgletscher mit Pinus cembra1.jpg | Aletsch Glacier with Aletsch Forest |File:Lavaux Switzerland.jpg | Lake Geneva with the Lavaux vineyards |File:001 Chateau de Chillon and Dents du Midi Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg | Chillon Castle with the Dents du Midi |File:Kapellbrucke in Lucerne.jpg | Kapellbrücke with Mount Pilatus |File:Old Tremola Road.jpg| Tremola road of the Gotthard Pass |File:I cancelli del lago.jpg | Lake Lugano from Parco Ciani |File:Landwasser Viaduct.jpg | Landwasser Viaduct with Glacier Express |File:Vineyards in Bellinzona.jpg | Bellinzona Castles |File:Kloster Einsiedeln 001.jpg | Einsiedeln Abbey |File:Werdenberg im Winter.jpg | Werdenberg with Castle |File:Rue du Bourg in Gruyères FR & Moléson (2014).jpg | Gruyères with Castle |File:Rathausplatz & Rathaus in Stein am Rhein SH (März 2020).jpg | Stein am Rhein |File:Doubs-Brücke in St. Ursanne (Kt. Jura).jpg | St-Ursanne |File:Boat on Klöntalersee.jpg | Klöntalersee |File:Castello Stockalper.jpg | Stockalper Palace

Activities

Boating

The following navigation companies offer tourism-oriented boat services on Swiss lakes and rivers:

• Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman on Lake Geneva (Lac Léman)
• Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft on Lake Zurich (Zürichsee) and the Limmat
• Lake Lucerne Navigation Company on Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee)
• Schiffsbetrieb Walensee on Lake Walen (Walensee)
• Schweizerische Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Untersee und Rhein on Lower Lake Constance (Untersee) and the High Rhine
• Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano on Lake Lugano (Lago di Lugano / Lago di Ceresio)
• Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi on Lake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore)

Cycling

Cycling is popular in Switzerland, both for commuting and as a recreational activity. The country has an extensive network of national, regional and local cycling routes, along with designated mountain bike trails.

Events

• Alpabzug/Désalpes
• Art Basel
• Art Zurich
• Basel Tattoo
• Carnival of Basel
• Locarno Film Festival
• Lucerne Festival
• Montreux Jazz Festival
• Paléo Festival
• National Day
• Schwingen
• Sechseläuten
• Solothurn Film Festival
• Street Parade
• Zibelemärit
• Zurich Film Festival

Hiking

Hiking is one of the main sports activities in Switzerland and is often referred to as the "national sport". About one-third of the population practice hiking regularly, with a total of 520000000 km in 130 million hours being travelled every year by the Swiss. Along with cycling, walking, in general, is the preferred form of mobility, regardless of social origins. The total hiking trail network is about 65,000 km. Hiking trails in Switzerland offer a wide range of difficulty levels, catering to both casual walkers and experienced mountaineers, with many routes featuring breathtaking views of the Alps and pristine natural landscapes. Examples are:

• Balfrin Höhenweg
• Jura ridgeway
• Haute Route (international)
• Rheintaler Höhenweg
• Swiss Path
• Trans-Swiss Trail
• Via Alpina (international)
• Via del Mercato (international)
• Via Francigena (international)
• Via Jacobi

Skiing

Main article: List of ski areas and resorts in Switzerland, List of cross-country skiing trails in Switzerland

Trains and funiculars

For non-Swiss tourists, travelling the country by rail is possible with Interrail and Eurail passes, along with the Swiss Travel Pass valid for rail, bus and boat. Tourism-oriented trains in Switzerland mostly run under the Panorama Express (PE) category. Examples are:

• Bernina Express
• Glacier Express
• GoldenPass Express
• Gotthard Panorama Express
• Jungfrau Railway
• Voralpen Express

Tourist attractions

Main article: Lists of tourist attractions in Switzerland

Statistics

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TextData= pos:(50,37) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Tourist arrivals in 2024 (millions) TextData= pos:(50,20) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Source: Trading Economics / TextData= pos:(50,3) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Swiss Federal Statistical Office Official statistics of tourism were planned in 1852, but were only realized in 1934, and continued until 2003. Since 2004, the Federal Statistical Office had discontinued its statistics, but collaborates with Switzerland Tourism in the publication of yearly "Swiss Tourism Figures". In the year 2011, a total number of 4,967 registered hotels or hostels, offered a total of 240,000 beds in 128,000 rooms. This capacity was saturated to 41.7% (compared to 39.7% in 2005), amounting to a total of 38.8 million lodging nights. 14% of hotels were in Grisons, 12% each in the Valais and Eastern Switzerland, 11% in Central Switzerland and 9% in the Bernese Oberland. The ratio of lodging nights in relation to resident population ("tourism intensity", a measure for the relative importance of tourism to local economy) was largest in Grisons (8.3) and Bernese Oberland (5.3), compared to a Swiss average of 1.3. 56.4% of lodging nights were by visitors from abroad (broken down by nationality: 16.5% Germany, 6.3% United Kingdom, 4.8% United States, 3.6% France, 3.0% Italy).

The total financial volume associated with tourism, including transportation, is estimated to CHF 35.5 billion (as of 2010) although some of this comes from fuel tax and sales of motorway vignettes. The total gross value added from tourism is 14.9 billion. Tourism provides a total of 144,838 full-time equivalent jobs in the entire country. The total financial volume of tourist lodging is 5.19 billion CHF and eating at the lodging provides an additional 5.19 billion. The total gross value added of 14.9 billion is about 2.9% of Switzerland's 2010 nominal GDP of 550.57 billion CHF.

The most visited Swiss tourist attractions are first, the Rhine Falls, second, the Berne Bear exhibit (both without entrance fee), and third, with over 1.8 million paid entries: Zoo Basel.

Overnight stays by country

Most overnight stays in 2019 in Switzerland were from the following countries of residence:

References

• Barton, Susan. Healthy living in the Alps: The origins of winter tourism in Switzerland, 1860-1914 (Manchester University Press, 2008).
• Dominici, Sara, and Robert Maitland. "The PTA: Promoting Swiss Tours, 1888–1939." Annals of Tourism Research 60 (2016): 31–47.
• Orland, Barbara. "Alpine Landscapes of Health: The Swiss Whey Cure and Therapeutic Tourism between 1750 and 1870." in Connecting Territories (Brill, 2021) pp. 210–241.
• Tonnerre, Quentin. "The 1928 Olympic Winter Games in St Moritz: Tourism, Diplomacy and Domestic Politics." International Journal of the History of Sport 38.13-14 (2021): 1385–1402. online
• Vonnard, Philippe, and Grégory Quin. "More than just football. Reflections on the case of the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland." Entreprises et histoire 4 (2018): 75–89. One goal was more tourists. online
• Christophe Clivaz, Tourisme d'hiver, le défi climatique [literally, "Winter tourism, the climate challenge"], Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, collection "Le Savoir suisse", 144 pages, 2015 ().

References

1. Susan Barton, ''Healthy living in the Alps: The origins of winter tourism in Switzerland, 1860-1914'' (Manchester University Press, 2008).
2. "Cycling in Switzerland". SwitzerlandMobility (SchweizMobil.ch).
3. "Mountainbiking in Switzerland". SwitzerlandMobility (SchweizMobil.ch).
4. "Hiking". MySwitzerland.com.
5. "Hiking in Switzerland". SwitzerlandMobility (SchweizMobil.ch).
6. "Hiking Difficulty Levels".
7. "Swiss Travel Pass". Switzerland Travel Center.
8. "Train travel in Switzerland". [[The Man in Seat Sixty-One]].
9. Switzerland Tourism, "Swiss Tourism in Figures - 2007 [http://www.swisstourfed.ch/Files/infothek/Vademecum/2007/Def%20Version%20englisch.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-03-31 ")
10. [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/10/02/blank/key/01.html Tourism], [[Federal Statistical Office (Switzerland)]] (page visited on 7 May 2012).
11. link. (2010-09-23 (page visited on 7 May 2012).)
12. [http://www.jungfrau.ch/unternehmen/unternehmen/jungfraubahn-holding-ag/ Jungfraubahn Holding AG]
13. [http://bazonline.ch/basel/stadt/Wieder-ein-Besucherrekord-im-Zolli/story/15869409 {{in lang. de Wieder ein Besucherrekord im Zolli]. Basler Zeitung, published 2013-2-21, retrieved 2013-2-21
14. Office, Federal Statistical. (2020-11-27). "Swiss tourism in figures 2019 - Structure and Industry".