Industry News
The Swiss tourism industry is booming and one group in particular has doubled in numbers: U.S. tourists. The Swiss Federal Statistical Office released its first estimates for 2023 which revealed that millions of Americans are flocking to the small alpine nation. While the majority of stays were booked over the summer, it is the winter months that have seen a real boom in 2023.
Ski resorts particularly popular with Americans are Zermatt, St. Moritz, Andermatt, Grindelwald, and Verbier. In Andermatt, 20% of hotel guests hailed from the United States in 2023, compared to just 5% before the Covid-19 pandemic. This development can certainly be attributed to Vail Resorts buying the Andermatt-Sedrun ski area in 2022, and the Swiss resort being included in Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass offering.
Zermatt is similarly popular with American guests, leading in terms of absolute numbers with 47,000 nights booked by American tourists this December and January alone. That is more than double the number of nights booked by U.S. tourists in the comparable period in 2019/20. It may be the world-famous Matterhorn attracting the crowds, but a large contributing factor is likely the Ikon Pass which added Zermatt as its first European resort in 2019.
Second place in terms of number of nights booked by American tourists goes to St. Moritz with 15,500 nights. The reputation of St. Moriz as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world has certainly attracted many well-heeled American guests and the statistics by Tourism Switzerland confirm that the average U.S. tourist coming to Switzerland has an annual household income in excess of $150,000, roughly twice the median household income in the USA. They typically stay in 4- or 5-star hotels and spend on average CHF 280 ($315) a day, more than twice as much as German guests, who are still the largest tourist group in Switzerland.
It will be interesting to see if the trend will continue into the next ski season, with another Swiss ski resort offered on the Epic Pass: Crans-Montana. Vail Resorts acquired the famous ski resort in the canton Wallis/Valais in November last year and access will be given to Epic pass holders from 2024/2025.
The increase in American tourists has also been attributed to a shift in attitudes by Millenials, who are seeking a better work-life balance than previous generations. Flexible work arrangements have enabled many 30-45-year-olds to take longer time away from the office by working remotely, thus enabling them to go on overseas holidays before retirement. In the past, Americans would often wait until retirement before traveling to Europe. With modern technology, working remotely has also given rise to more skier visits nationally, with the U.S. recording a record 65.7 million skier visits in 2022/2023.
Vail Resorts wants to continue to grow in Switzerland and Europe and there are rumours that the company has its eye on Verbier. The Burrus family, who is the majority shareholder in Téléverbier, the lift operation company in Verbier, as well as Jean-Albert Ferrez, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Laurent Vaucher, CEO, allegedly spent a week in Vail in January 2024. Verbier is part of the 4 Vallées Ski area and has been on the Epic Pass as a “partner resort” since 2012, offering three days of free skiing. It certainly could be a popular move with American visitors and bring a boost to the French-speaking side of the Swiss Alps.
