Global News Blog: Switzerland Institutes New Travel Incentive for Americans

Posted by Alyssa Harker

In recent years, American tourism has dropped by 15 percent in Switzerland, most likely due to the recession. With U.S. employment still down, it is difficult for Swiss tourism to predict when Americans will begin to visit the country again. Considering Americans account for the third largest group of foreign tourists in Switzerland every year, this is a sizeable blow for the Swiss tourism industry.

It is not only vacationers that have stayed away, but businesses are sending fewer employees abroad as well.

In an attempt to increase travel from the United States, Switzerland Tourism instituted its “typically Swiss hotels” incentive earlier in the year. This program stemmed from American requests for hotels with “Swiss charm” when traveling in the country. Switzerland Tourism decided to join forces with the Swiss Hotel Association in order to find hotels that fulfilled certain criteria, including authentic Swiss food and wines, architecture correlating with the region, and the personalized service well-recognized in Switzerland. Hotels included in the program incentive range from farmhouses, to villas, to castles.

Switzerland hopes their “typically Swiss hotels” initiative, paired with recent airfare discounts will get Americans moving again. If Switzerland is on your list of places to see before you die, now is definitely the time to get that checked off your list.