Swiss Review 5/2019

Swiss Review / September 2019 / No.5 9 in certain parts of Switzerland. Ac- cording to hotelleriesuisse, the Swiss hotel association, around 100 Swiss hotels go out of business each year. Drastically shrinkingmargins seem to be the main problem. There are also not enough investors willing to give some localities the facelift they need. Whenever a mountain region loses a hotel or a railway line, this can have a significant economic knock-on effect. Politicians are call- ing for greater public funding. How- ever, tourism experts believe that Switzerland also needs to ready it- self for the growing influx of travel- lers from around the world. The tourist sector is trying tomanage the inundationmore effectively in order to reduce visitor bottlenecks and avoid eroding goodwill among local communities. Measures also include selling autumn as a separate season instead of advertising Switzerland solely as a winter and summer des- tination. The “Fifth Switzerland” – they love to travel Not everyone who visits Switzerland is looking for a new experience. Many are go- ing back to their roots, or to put it another way – going home. Tens of thousands of Swiss Abroad who visit Switzerland are renewing ties with their homeland. There are no precise figures as tourist statistics include visitors’ country of origin but have no information about their connection to Switzerland. However, a survey by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) covering 35,000 people does provide some valuable indicators: 68 per cent of respondents said they visit Switzerland at least once a year. Just under a third said they visit Switzerland at least three times a year, with ten per cent travelling there five times or more per year. An extrapo- lation of these findings to the 760,000 Swiss Abroad suggests that they form a significant visitor group. Holidaymakers from the “Fifth Switzer- land” are major contributors to the tourism industry. While foreign tourists spend fewer than three nights in Switzerland on average (2017: 2.1 nights), Swiss expatriates like to take their time. The resounding majority stay for eight or more days and one quarter spend more than two weeks in the country. They also like the traditional souvenirs: chocolate, cheese, wine and watches in particular. Their influence on the hotel sector is less pronounced, as most Swiss Abroad prefer to stay with friends or relatives. The survey also emphatically shows that Swiss Abroad believe the best way to strengthen their connection to Switzerland is to keep going there regularly. Their second most important link is incidentally the “Swiss Review”. Number three is the opportu- nity for political participation, although the survey was conducted before electronic vot- ing was called into question. MARC LETTAU Global fame through Instagram: the small Berggast- haus Aescher in the Appenzell Alps Photo: Keystone The closed spa house at Schwefelbergbad shows the downside of the boom: 100 hotels are clos- ing every year in the peripheral regions. Photo: Danielle Liniger