Tourism in Switzerland

Switzerland is notable for its landscapes and tourism facilities (Matterhorn from the Gornergrat Railway).

Tourists are drawn to Switzerland's diverse landscape as well as the available activities, which take advantage of the Alpine climate and landscapes, in particular skiing and mountaineering, but also due to the many old town centers, with their historic buildings that often preserve parts of their medieval fortifications, and Roman sites. Switzerland is also popular for tourism-oriented railways.

As of 2016, ^[update] tourism accounted for an estimated 2.6% (CHF 16.8 billion) of Switzerland's GDP, compared to 2.6% (CHF 12.8 billion) in 2001. ^[1]

History

Further information: Exploration of the High Alps, History of the Alps, Golden age of alpinism, and Silver age of alpinism

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. ^[2]

Notable tourist destinations in Switzerland

Infographic map of Switzerland

See also: List of cities 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

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

Resorts in the Alps

Bernese Oberland	Central Switzerland	Eastern Switzerland	Grisons	Valais	Vaud	Ticino
Adelboden Grindelwald Gstaad Kandersteg	Andermatt Einsiedeln Engelberg	Appenzell Braunwald Flumserberg Heiden Wildhaus	Arosa Davos Klosters Samnaun Scuol St. Moritz	Aletsch Glacier Crans-Montana Leukerbad Saas-Fee Verbier Zermatt	Leysin Villars-sur-Ollon	Airolo Verzasca

Natural regions

• Bernese Alps, between the Swiss Plateau and Valais, known for its high mountains (notably Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau) and huge glaciers (notably the Aletsch Glacier), and deep valleys, like the Lauterbrunnental, with waterfalls
• Valais Alps, on the left side of the Rhone valley, contains the highest mountains in the country (notably Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn) and big ski resorts like Zermatt
• 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
• Alpstein (Mount Säntis, Ebenalp, Seealpsee), Churfirsten and Tamina Gorge in Eastern Switzerland
• 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
• Lake Constance, the second largest lake in the country
• Seeland, the region of Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Biel and Lake Morat
• Jura Mountains, a moderately elevated mountain region north of the Swiss Plateau (e.g. Chasseral, Creux du Van, Lägern)
• 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 (Maggiore and Lugano), notable for being the warmest place in the country

Emblematic sights

• 
  Bern Old City with the Zytglogge
• 
  Limmat in Zürich
• 
  Geneva Jet d'Eau with Mont Blanc
• 
  Aletsch Glacier with Aletsch Forest
• 
  Lake Geneva with the Lavaux vineyards
• 
  Chillon Castle with the Dents du Midi
• 
  Kapellbrücke with Mount Pilatus
• 
  Tremola road of the Gotthard Pass
• 
  Lake Lugano from Parco Ciani
• 
  Landwasser Viaduct with Glacier Express
• 
  Bellinzona Castles
• 
  Einsiedeln Abbey
• 
  Werdenberg with Castle
• 
  Gruyères with Castle
• 
  Stein am Rhein
• 
  St-Ursanne
• 
  Klöntalersee
• 
  Stockalper Palace

Activities

Boating

Ship of Navigazione Laghi arriving at Brissago

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

See also: Swiss National Bike Routes

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, ^[3] along with designated mountain bike trails. ^[4]

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
• Street Parade
• Zibelemärit
• Zurich Film Festival

Hiking

Switzerland comprehends an extensive hiking trail network (here the Schöllenen Gorge on the Gotthard route)

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 520,000,000 kilometres (320,000,000 mi) 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 (40,000 mi). ^{[5] [6]} 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. ^[7]

Skiing

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

Trains and funiculars

See also: List of heritage railways and funiculars in Switzerland and List of funiculars in Switzerland

Tourism-oriented trains 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

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). ^[8]

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. ^{[9] [10]}

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.

Jungfrau railway (with Eiger in the background), one of the major tourist attractions of the High Alps (1 million visitors in 2015 (up from 0.866 million in 2014). The Jungfraujoch railway station is the highest in Europe, at an elevation of 3,454 metres (11,332 ft).

Rhine Falls and Laufen Castle

Antelope House at Zoo Basel, Switzerland's most visited tourist attraction with an entrance fee

Overnight stays by country

Most overnight stays in 2019 in Switzerland were from the following countries of residence: ^[13]

Rank	Country	Number of overnight stays
1	Germany	3,925,653
2	United States	2,474,360
3	United Kingdom	1,641,429
4	China	1,583,799
5	France	1,227,105
6	Italy	887,679
7	Gulf states	863,767
8	India	792,607
9	Netherlands	648,054
10	Belgium	636,425
Total foreign		21,639,611

See also

• Economy of Switzerland
• Geography of Switzerland
• List of aerial tramways in Switzerland
• List of mountains of Switzerland accessible by public transport
• List of museums in Switzerland
• List of World Heritage Sites in Switzerland
• Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality
• Transport in Switzerland

Notes and references

1. bfs.admin.ch, bazonline.ch 23 February 2018.
2. Susan Barton, Healthy living in the Alps: The origins of winter tourism in Switzerland, 1860-1914 (Manchester University Press, 2008).
3. "Cycling in Switzerland". SwitzerlandMobility (SchweizMobil.ch). Retrieved 25 May 2025.
4. "Mountainbiking in Switzerland". SwitzerlandMobility (SchweizMobil.ch). Retrieved 31 May 2025.
5. "Hiking". MySwitzerland.com. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
6. "Hiking in Switzerland". SwitzerlandMobility (SchweizMobil.ch). Retrieved 25 May 2025.
7. "Hiking Difficulty Levels" . Retrieved 5 November 2024.
8. Switzerland Tourism, "Swiss Tourism in Figures - 2007 PDF Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine "
9. Tourism, Federal Statistical Office (Switzerland) (page visited on 7 May 2012).
10. SECO Gross domestic product - quarterly estimates Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine (page visited on 7 May 2012).
11. Jungfraubahn Holding AG
12. (in German) Wieder ein Besucherrekord im Zolli. Basler Zeitung, published 2013-2-21, retrieved 2013-2-21
13. Office, Federal Statistical (27 November 2020). "Swiss tourism in figures 2019 - Structure and Industry". Federal Statistical Office bfs.admin.ch. Retrieved 22 September 2021.

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
• (in French) 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 ( ISBN   9782889151516).
• Tourism in German , French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland .

External links

Media related to Tourism in Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons

• Switzerland Tourism, a national tourism organisation