Hotel sector expects difficult summer season
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss hotel industry expects a difficult summer season due to the war in the Middle East.
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For weeks now there have been cancellations, fewer new bookings and an increasing tendency to make last-minute reservations, Hotelleriesuisse reported today.
As a result, the outlook is “clearly clouded”: more than half of the establishments are already reporting negative effects related to the conflict in the Middle East, and businesses in cities are particularly affected, writes Hotelleriesuisse, which conducted a survey of the association’s 268 members between March 27 and April 7.
The current development shows how dependent tourism is on global events, the association emphasises. The conflict in the Middle East has in fact caused considerable disruption to international air traffic in the central hubs of the Gulf region. These are notoriously decisive in connecting Switzerland to important markets in Asia and Oceania.
At the same time, travellers’ behaviour is changing: uncertainty, rising travel costs and an increased need for security are leading them to postpone or cancel long-distance trips more frequently. Initial feedback from member companies confirms this trend, especially with regard to guests from Asia, but also from the United States. Added to this is an increasing tendency to book at the last minute, which complicates planning for companies considerably.
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‘From holiday to stress’: Swiss travellers stranded across Gulf region
Positive winter season
On the other hand, the balance of the past winter is positive: according to the survey, about two thirds of the companies were satisfied or very satisfied with the winter season 2025/26. The balance is particularly positive in the Alpine regions, a result that is all the more significant in view of the fact that many destinations faced difficult snow conditions at the beginning of the season, it emphasised.
In both urban and rural regions, satisfaction was slightly lower, reflecting the different demand structures within Switzerland.
Translated from German by AI/jdp
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