Australian travellers have flocked back to Switzerland during a strong winter season for the Central European nation.
At an event in Sydney yesterday, Switzerland Tourism presented figures that showed Aussie travel to Switzerland grew 11 per cent in the first three months of this year when compared to 2019.
With a positive outlook for the northern summer, the country’s tourism authorities estimate Australian overnight arrivals to reach 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels this year, and surpass 2019 levels (to 110 per cent) by 2024.
“Signs are good that we’ll get back to 2019 levels, which were about 400,000 overnights, which is a very good and substantial market for Switzerland,” Switzerland Tourism Asia-Pacific Director Sara Roloff told Karryon at the event.
“But the overnights are not the only thing that makes Australia important for us. It’s also the daily expenditure.
“Australians are very good guests – they spend around 260 Swiss Francs per day, which is much more than other markets, so that’s also why Australia will be important for us in the future.”
On APAC travel trends, Switzerland Tourism flagged a rise in FIT travel, a decrease in tour group sizes, an increase in mono-destination touring, and booming demand for rail travel. Spring and autumn travel was also proving popular.
New AU/NZ support
Meanwhile, Switzerland Tourism revealed that The Walshe Group would provide “temporary local marketing support” in Australia and New Zealand until a new Swiss Market Manager to Australia arrives later in the year.
The Walshe Group will oversee trade and media campaigns for the country through local cooperations and activations.
“We are delighted to announce the appointment of The Walshe Group as our local marketing and public relations representative,” Roloff said.
“Their experience and local market knowledge will be invaluable in our continued investment in Australia and NZ to promote Switzerland as a leading tourism destination.
“We look forward to working with them to achieve our goals and objectives and to welcoming the new Market Manager later in 2023.”
Current Switzerland Tourism Australia and New Zealand Director, Livio Goetz, will leave Sydney to take up a new role looking after the Gulf Coast Countries (GCC) from 1 July 2023.
Read how Switzerland is like Australia (but totally different).
For more information on Switzerland Tourism, visit its website.
