Switzerland
Switzerland
Travellers from Switzerland made 24.8 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$23.6 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 968,000 visits from Switzerland. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £755.3 million, with an average spend of £781 per person.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- Almost half of Swiss visitor spending in the UK comes from holidaymakers, a record £354 million in 2023.
- More than three quarters of holiday visitors are making a repeat trip to Britain (excluding British nationals).
- Most visitors are Swiss, but 37% of those coming to see friends or family in the UK are British nationals.
- 96% of departing visitors say that they are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely’ likely to recommend a visit to Britain.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Visiting a pub.
Going shopping.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Please click on the button below and select the country you are interested in.
Perceptions of Britain in the Swiss market
- 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% think that the adjective ‘exciting’ would describe a potential visit to Britain.
- More than half of Swiss people associate Britain with the statement ‘has a rich and interesting history’, but both France and the USA are 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% deem it ‘a romantic destination’.
- Twice as many believe that the statement ‘people are welcoming’ is correct for Italy than believe it to be correct for Britain.
- More than one-in-four find the idea of ‘shopping in Harrods’ to be appealing, and 21% associate the statement ‘shopping is good value for money’ with Britain.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 23.6 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 15 |
| Number of outbound overnight visits (m) | 24.8 |
| Most visited destination | France |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 9 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 89,056 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 1.8 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 0.7 |
Caring for visitors
- It is definitely an advantage to have important signs and information 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 organic food, and appreciate this being available when on holiday.
The leisure and travel trade
- According to the Swiss Travel Federation (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
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 472 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 76,791 |
| Airports with direct routes in Switzerland | 3 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 21 |
- 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 going to London airports.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from Switzerland to the UK recovered to 92% of 2019 levels in 2023.
- The current rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Switzerland is £13.
Further resources
Switzerland Market Snapshot.pdf
Switzerland Market Snapshot
Switzerland Market Profile
Switzerland Market Profile
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of these data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.
