Another record-breaking summer at Interhome in Switzerland
Interhome has surpassed the record-breaking 2021 booking figures for holiday apartments and homes in Switzerland. Moreover, the holiday rental property specialist's latest holiday home report shows that Switzerland remains a top vacation destination, short trips are popular and guests from abroad are back.
Interhome can look back on another record-breaking summer in Switzerland. With last year's summer season (1 May to 31 August) already having proved the best in the holiday home provider's history, bookings for this summer once again beat all records. Never before have so many guests spent their holidays in a Swiss holiday home or apartment as this summer. "On the one hand, our Swiss guests still prefer to spend their summer holidays on home turf. This despite the fact that it was possible to travel to all countries in the Interhome portfolio again. On top of this, visitors from abroad have also been finding their way back to Switzerland," says Roger Müller, Country Manager Interhome Switzerland. A look at the autumn season (1 September to 31 October 2022) shows an unbroken trend for holidays in Switzerland and confirms the popularity of autumn holidays in Switzerland among visitors from abroad.
Throughout Europe, as in Switzerland, staying in a holiday home or apartment is on trend. According to the latest projections, Interhome Group will end the current business year (1 November 2021 to 31 October 2022) on a par with 2021.
Switzerland – summer 2022 in review
Note: As the last holiday home report was issued in 2019, the current holiday home report compares the 2019 figures (before the Corona pandemic) with the 2022 figures.
**Pandemic raises Switzerland's appeal **
When comparing the top 3 destinations among Swiss Interhome customers before and after the Corona pandemic, a very similar pattern emerges. Switzerland is the clear winner and, with 62.4%, has even gained in popularity as a destination for a summer holiday in a rental property compared to before the pandemic (2019: 49.5%). Italy (14.2%) and France (12%) rank as the second and third most popular summer destinations among Swiss holidaymakers.
At 19.7%, canton Valais was once again the most popular summer holiday region after 2019 (17.8%). Canton Ticino has however been making up ground and, at 19.3% (2019: 14.6%), almost equalled its neighbouring southern Swiss canton in popularity – not least thanks to the 20 new apartments in the LocTowers in Locarno. There was one change to the 2022 leaderboard: at 9.1%, the Bernese Oberland – a region that did not feature in the 5 most popular destinations in 2019 – has secured third place on the podium. In 2019, this spot was held by canton Graubünden.
Visitors from the USA are back
The top 3 countries of origin for Interhome guests in Switzerland are still the Swiss themselves (45.3%), followed by guests from Germany (13.7%) and Holland (7.4%). After the absence of visitors from the USA during the Corona pandemic, guests from overseas have started to return to Switzerland this summer (2022: 4.2%, 2019: 5.7%). However, there were still more French (5%) than American guests renting summer holiday accommodation in Switzerland.
Growing demand for short trips
48% of Swiss guests (2019: 51%) booked their summer holiday accommodation for a stay of between 5 and 7 nights. 27.5% – more Swiss than before the pandemic (2019: 21%) – booked a short stay of 1 to 4 days in a holiday home or apartment. This means that in summer too, short trips have become more popular. By contrast, longer stays of 8 to 14 days (–3.8%) have lost some ground.
Moderately higher demands on quality
Swiss holidaymakers treated themselves to a step up in quality this summer season, with more than half booking 3 star-rated accommodation (52.7%, 2019: 55.3%). In addition, the average share of 4 star-rated holiday apartments rose to 30.5% (previous year: 25.9%).
Switzerland – outlook on autumn 2022
Swiss autumn is on trend
The majority of Swiss customers (59.1%) will be spending their autumn holidays in a holiday apartment or home in Switzerland. Closely mirroring the summer season, the most popular regions are canton Valais (16.7%), canton Ticino (15.8%) and the Bernese Oberland (14.6%). The neighbouring countries Italy (18.1%) and France (10.3%) follow in second and third place.
One-week stays are popular
With regard to the length of stay in autumn, a similar pattern emerges as in summer: almost one half of Interhome Group's Swiss customers (48.8%) spend 5 to 7 nights in their chosen accommodation. Around one quarter opt for a short trip lasting between 1 and 4 nights (25.5%), followed by 22.6% with a stay of between 8 and 14 days.
Higher demands on quality
Swiss holidaymakers tend to be more quality-conscious in autumn than in summer, with 39.5% opting to book 4 star-rated holiday accommodation. However, 3 star-rated holiday homes and apartments continue to be the most popular choice (46.1%).
**Swiss love – from home and abroad **
In autumn, Swiss holiday homes and apartments are mostly occupied by domestic (52.2%), followed by German (13.4%) and Dutch (5.5%) holidaymakers. French guests are more likely to stay in Switzerland in summer (5%) than in autumn (3.2%). It is encouraging that guests from the USA are continuing to remain loyal to Switzerland in autumn (4.6%).
Download the Swiss holiday home report (in German)
Download the Swiss holiday home report (in French)
Download the global holiday Home report