Swiss Review 5/2019

Swiss Review / September 2019 / No.5 6 Focus SUSANNE WENGER Switzerland is an attractive holiday destination blessed with spectacu- lar alpine panoramas and excep- tional towns and cities. The coun- try’s hoteliers recorded 38.8 million overnight stays in 2018 – more visits than ever before. This record high shows that Swiss tourism is back on track after some difficult years. First the financial and economic crisis broke out in 2008, then the currency shock compounded matters four years ago. Following the abandon- ment of the minimum Euro ex- change rate by the Swiss National Bank and the subsequent apprecia- tion of the Swiss franc, Switzerland had become too expensive for Euro- pean guests in particular. Tourism leaders feared the worst. But visitor numbers are climbing again – so strongly in some places that the lo- cals are up in arms. Lucerne – situated on the lake, with its mountain views and famous wooden footbridge – is particularly popular.Well over 20,000 guests visit the small city each day during the high season. Many are American, while a sizeable contingent are Asians travelling in tour groups. In May of this year, some 12,000 Chinese ar- Tourists everywhere Overtourism is not restricted to the famous Italian city of Venice – Swiss destinations such as Lucerne and Interlaken are no strangers to the phenomenon either. However, other Swiss localities are still struggling to attract visitors as hotels go out of business.