Tourism: record winter season for hotels
(22.07.2026) The Swiss hotel industry achieved another record-breaking performance during the 2025/2026 winter season. Between November and April, the sector recorded 18.7 million overnight stays, an increase of 1.1% compared with the 2024/2025 winter season, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Domestic demand increased by 1.6% (+152,000), surpassing records of the previous four winter seasons with 9.5 million overnight stays. The strongest growth was recorded in December 2025 (+5.9%) and April 2026 (+5.1%). However, a significant decline (-5.7%) was observed in March.
With 9.3 million overnight stays (+0.5%/+46,000), international demand reached its highest level since the 2007/2008 winter season. European visitors remained the largest international market, accounting for 62.6% of all international overnight stays, and increased by 1.8% to 5.8 million (+104,000). In absolute terms, Germany recorded the largest increase (+1.6%/+26,000), followed by the United Kingdom (+2.3%/+18,000) and Spain (+7.3%/+17,000).
The number of visitors from the Americas reached a new record, with 1.8 million overnight stays (+5.5%/+93,000). The United States recorded its best result in 30 years (+4.5%/+52,000), while Brazil (+8.2%/+17,000) and Canada (+8.0%/+9,400) also contributed to this positive trend.
By contrast, the Asian market declined sharply by 10.1% to 1.4 million overnight stays (-155,000). This decline is attributed to the effects of the conflict in the Middle East. India (-15.8%/-33,000), the Gulf States (-9.6%/-26,000) and South Korea (-18.4%/-22,000) recorded the largest decreases.
Regionally, ten of Switzerland's thirteen tourism regions recorded an increase in overnight stays. Ticino stood out with growth of 7.2% (+49,000 overnight stays), followed by Geneva (+2.5%/+42,000) and the Zurich region (+1.6%/+51,000).