New data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has revealed where people living in Swiss cities and cantons chose to visit in 2022. The government found that 90 percent of people in Switzerland took some form of holiday or trip last year, although only 4 percent chose to vacation outside Europe.

21,1 million trips taken by people in Switzerland in 2022

According to the data, 21,1 million trips were made by people in Switzerland in 2022, a figure near-identical to the number recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. 90 percent of the population took at least one holiday last year, while on average, every resident of the alpine nation made 2,6 overnight trips and had eight day excursions.

Men, those over the age of retirement and people living in German-speaking Switzerland were the groups that travelled most. Indeed, those east of the Röstigraben had an average of three overnight trips per person in 2022, compared to 1,9 and 1,4 overnighters by people in the Romande and Italian Switzerland respectively.

Switzerland's neighbours the most popular destinations

Of these trips, around 40 percent of overnight stays were to other parts of Switzerland, while 92 percent of day trips were to Swiss cities, historical sites, mountains and ski resorts. The main purposes of these trips were for holidays and leisure, followed by seeing friends or family and business trips.

The most common overseas destination for the Swiss in 2022 was Italy, with 13 percent of all overnight stays - 2,7 million trips - recorded as being in the country. Italy was followed by Germany at 10 percent and France at 8 percent. A quarter of all trips recorded were to another European nation, with southern Europe being the most popular and only 4 percent of journeys were to places outside the continent.

Driving remains the most common transport method

In 2022, 67 percent of domestic trips and 47 percent of trips abroad involved driving, while public transport was only used in 30 percent of excursions in Switzerland and just 13 percent of trips abroad. After the COVID pandemic, the number of people flying shot up by two-thirds, with 37 percent of overnight stays involving a trip in the sky.

For more information, check out the official study (in German).