Absent Germans, Dutch hit Swiss tourism in February

[ZURICH] Sharp falls in overnight stays by German and Dutch visitors knocked the Swiss tourism sector in February, as part of the winter sports season was hurt by the strong Swiss franc, provisional data showed on Thursday.

Overnight stays fell 1.3 per cent year-on-year to 3.1 million despite the extra day from the leap year, with a 5.3 per cent drop in stays by foreigners outweighing a rise in domestic demand, the Federal Statistics Office reported.

Stays by Germans shrank by 34,000, or more than 9 per cent, and by Dutch by nearly a quarter. Fewer Asian visitors came as well, although more Britons booked stays.

For the first two months of the year, overnight stays fell a cumulative 3.9 per cent overall as both foreign and domestic demand decreased.

REUTERS