Switzerland

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information.

The 2021 data is ‘incomplete’ as Eurotunnel data was unavailable for Q1 to Q3 but modelled for Q4. In addition, interviewing at Dover restarted from Q3 2021 and pseudo records for the Irish land border were also removed in 2021. More info can be found on the 2021 inbound page.

For 2022, Eurotunnel data was modelled for the first half of the year and the latest data can be found on the monthly and quarterly pages. Interviewing at Eurostar was not affected by Covid-19 restrictions in 2021 or the first half of 2022. The ONS restarted IPS interviews at all ports from July 2022.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019.

Visitor characteristics

There are more than twice as many male as female business visitors while there are smaller differences between the numbers of male and female leisure visitors
More than three-quarters of holiday visitors are making a repeat trip to Britain (excluding British nationals)
Most visitors are Swiss, but about one-in-five are British nationals
96% of departing visitors say that they are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely’ likely to recommend a visit to Britain

Popular activities

Dining in a restaurant

Visited a Pub

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	18.9
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	19
Number of outbound visits (m)	24.5
Most visited destination	France

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2022
Population (m)	8.8
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	83,449
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	1.7
Annual GDP growth (%)	2.1

Switzerland Market Snapshot (PDF, 543KB)

Switzerland Market Profile (PDF 2.96MB)

Find out where visitors from Switzerland to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published 2016)

Read about the preferences of Europeans towards tourism (PDF, 1.65MB, Published March 2015)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.1372 CHF

As of 25 January 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Switzerland

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What the Swiss think about Britain

The cultural product or service that the Swiss most associate with Britain is museums, but they have an above average propensity to associate Britain with pop videos
32% reckon that the adjective ‘exciting’ would describe a potential visit to Britain
More than half of Swiss associate Britain with the statement ‘has a rich and interesting history’ but both France and the USA are even more strongly associated with this attribute
While 38% associate Britain with the statement ‘is rich in natural scenic beauty’ leading competitors are much more strongly associated with the statement
Only 15% believe ‘is a relaxing destination’ is apposite for Britain and just 13% consider ‘is a romantic destination’ to be appropriate
Twice as many believe that the statement ‘people are welcoming’ is right for Italy than believe it to be right for Britain
More than one-in-four find the idea of ‘shopping in Harrods’ as appealing, and 21% associate the statement ‘shopping is good value for money’ in Britain

Caring for visitors

It is definitely an advantage to have important signs and information material printed in French and German and to know a few basic phrases in French and German to make Swiss visitors feel welcome
The Swiss are prepared to pay for good quality accommodation, but they do expect perfection
Cleanliness is of major importance to the Swiss, as are sustainability and environmental issues
The Swiss enjoy being able to consume organic food and will appreciate this being available when on holiday

The leisure & travel trade

According to the Swiss national travel agents’ association (SRV), the top ten tour operators in Switzerland probably account for 70% of the total market
The larger operators research their main programme between April and June, while smaller operators work to a slightly later timetable, researching between July and September
Major German operators are now increasingly active in Switzerland

Access to Britain from Switzerland


Measure	2022
Weekly aircraft departures	388
Weekly seat capacity	62,200
Airports with direct routes in Switzerland	3
Airports with direct routes in Britain	20

Virtually all visits to Britain from Switzerland are made by air
Seat capacity is highly seasonal reflecting demand for outbound winter sports travel from Britain to Switzerland
Geneva and Zurich are the airports with the highest volume of capacity destined for Britain, with the bulk of seats destined for London area airports
Following the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity in 2022 from Switzerland to the UK recovered to 74% of 2019 levels
The current rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Switzerland is £13

Markets

Switzerland