Cantons

A confirmed 5,679,939 overnights in 2025 — the largest canton by volume and second only to Valais in upper-tier concentration. St. Moritz holds two of the country's nine three-Key houses. Note: annual growth was announced at two different figures, +2.8% and +1.0%; the discrepancy is unresolved.

Seasonality

Two peaks: Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

47 properties, 6 in the Key selection, 4 065 keys recorded

Airports

Engadin Airport Samedan (SMV)

Access

The most distant canton by time: St. Moritz is four and a half hours from Bern. The Rhaetian Railway is metre-gauge, with the Albula and Bernina sections under UNESCO protection. Samedan aerodrome at 1,707 metres is the highest in Europe and takes business aviation.

Destinations

St. Moritz, Davos, Klosters, Arosa, Lenzerheide, Flims, Laax, Pontresina, Celerina, Scuol, Unterengadin, Samnaun, Vals, Chur, Bergün, Albulatal, Rhätische Bahn, Albula/Bernina

Events

World Economic Forum (Jan), Snow Polo World Cup (Jan), White Turf (Feb), Chalandamarz (Feb), Engadin Skimarathon (Mar), Festival da Jazz, Auftakt (Jun), Festival da Jazz (Jul), Spengler Cup (Dec)

Starred tables

Schloss Schauenstein ★★★, La Brezza, Arosa ★★, Da Vittorio – St. Moritz ★★, Ecco St. Moritz ★★, 7132 Silver ★★

A confirmed 4,532,842 overnights in 2025, +2.2% — the fourth volume in the country. Zermatt, Crans-Montana, Verbier and Saas-Fee give the highest non-urban concentration of upper-tier stock in Switzerland. 52.4% of nights were domestic, and that share fell: the market is carried by inbound.

Seasonality

Two peaks: Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

31 properties, 2 in the Key selection, 1 562 keys recorded

Airports

Sion (SIR)

Access

The Rhône valley is a single axis and everything else branches upward from it. Zermatt is car-free: the car stays in Täsch and only the train continues. Saas-Fee is the same. For transfers that means a baggage transhipment, and it has to be built into the plan in advance.

Destinations

Zermatt, Matterhorn, Gornergrat, Crans-Montana, Verbier, Saas-Fee, Leukerbad, Sion, Sierre, Val d'Anniviers, Martigny, Nendaz, Vétroz, Chamoson, Aletschgletscher, Bettmeralp, Riederalp

Events

Sion sous les Étoiles (Apr), Sion Festival (Jun), Verbier Festival (Aug)

Starred tables

Gilles Varone ★★

A confirmed 513,795 overnights in 2025 — 1.2% of the country, but 71.1% of them Swiss residents. This is a domestic market with a very thin international layer: US guests generated 7,112 nights in the year. Gruyères and Murten sell a day, not a week.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

5 properties, 250 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Twenty-two minutes from Bern on the fast line. Gruyères and Charmey mean bus or car from there — which is precisely why the canton sells a day and not a week.

Destinations

Fribourg Altstadt, Gruyères, Murten/Morat, Charmey, La Gruyère, Schwarzsee, Broc, Maison Cailler

Events

Festival International de Films de Fribourg (Apr), Désalpe de Charmey (Oct)

A canton of transit and thermal water. Baden with its spa tradition, the Seerose at Meisterschwanden with a MICHELIN Key, the two-star Skin's at Lenzburg. It sells as a stop rather than a destination.

Seasonality

Year-round

Hotel stock

4 properties, 1 in the Key selection, 164 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

The crossing point of every main axis in the country. Forty-five minutes to Zurich, an hour to Basel and to Bern. The canton sells on journey time rather than content.

Destinations

Baden, Aarau, Lenzburg, Hallwilersee, Kloster Muri

Starred tables

Skin's – the restaurant ★★

The Appenzell hill country: small houses, family ownership, a conversation with the owner directly. Two starred tables — Truube at Gais and Zum Gupf at Rehetobel — carry the region's dining reputation.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

2 properties, 66 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

The Appenzell narrow-gauge lines from St. Gallen and Rorschach. Roads are narrow and coaches small — a group arrival is planned differently than in the valley.

Destinations

Gais, Heiden, Teufen, Rehetobel

The smallest canton by stock in the country. Ebenalp, Seealpsee and Appenzell are day geography. There is no upper tier; the absence is recorded rather than skipped.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

1 properties, 78 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Appenzell is the terminus. Ebenalp and Seealpsee are reached by cableway and on foot, which limits both the season and the guest profile.

Destinations

Appenzell, Ebenalp, Seealpsee

Events

Landsgemeinde (Apr), Alpabzug (Sep)

Basel's hinterland: demand spills over from the city during Art Basel or a congress. There is almost no upper tier of its own, but there are starred tables at Bubendorf and Oberwil.

Seasonality

Year-round

Hotel stock

2 properties, 45 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Basel's suburban network covers the canton entirely. Demand spills over from the city, and during Art Basel that is the decisive occupancy factor.

Destinations

Augusta Raurica, Rheinfelden, Bubendorf

A market on two calendars: pharmaceutical head offices all year and Art Basel in June, which for one week takes rates outside the normal scale. Les Trois Rois holds three MICHELIN Keys and the three-star Cheval Blanc inside. Regional net room occupancy was 60.3% in 2025, second in the country.

Seasonality

Year-round, business rhythm

Hotel stock

9 properties, 3 in the Key selection, 676 keys recorded

Airports

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL)

Access

The canton's home airport stands in France. EuroAirport is jointly run, has Swiss and French exits and is twenty minutes from Basel SBB. Add three countries within half an hour and direct ICE and TGV services.

Destinations

Basler Altstadt, Fondation Beyeler, Kunstmuseum Basel, Rheinufer Basel

Events

Basler Fasnacht (Feb), Art Basel (Jun), Basler Herbstmesse (Nov), Basler Weihnachtsmarkt (Dec)

Starred tables

Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl ★★★, roots ★★, Stucki – Tanja Grandits ★★

One canton holding two non-overlapping markets. Bern is the federal capital and runs on a business rhythm; the Bernese Oberland — Gstaad, Interlaken, Grindelwald — has two seasons and a different set of counterparts. BFS treats them as two separate tourism regions, which matters when reconciling figures.

Seasonality

Two peaks: Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

30 properties, 9 in the Key selection, 2 177 keys recorded

Airports

Bern-Belp (BRN)

Access

The canton runs on two transport regimes. Bern and Thun sit on the trunk network; the Oberland is end-of-line branches changing at Interlaken or Zweisimmen, and Wengen and Mürren have no road access at all.

Destinations

Berner Altstadt, Gstaad, Interlaken, Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen, Adelboden, Kandersteg, Thun und Thunersee, Brienzersee, Meiringen, Haslital, Saanen, Lenk im Simmental

Events

Lauberhornrennen (Jan), Internationales Jazzfestival Bern (May), Swiss Open Gstaad (Jul), Bundesfeier (Jul), Menuhin Festival Gstaad (Aug), Bern Jazz Festival (Oct), Zibelemärit (Nov)

The highest net room occupancy in the country: 67.9% in 2025, up 3.9 points. The market rests on the UN institutions, the watch salon and banking. Three of the country's nine three-Key houses stand here: Beau-Rivage, The Woodward and — formally in Bellevue — La Réserve.

Seasonality

Year-round, business rhythm

Hotel stock

20 properties, 6 in the Key selection, 3 066 keys recorded

Airports

Genève Aéroport (GVA)

Access

The airport is inside the city, six minutes by train to Cornavin. The country's highest net room occupancy rests partly on that: a guest lands and checks in within the hour.

Destinations

Vieille-Ville de Genève, Jet d'Eau, Palais des Nations, Carouge, Satigny, vignoble genevois

Events

Watches and Wonders (Mar), Salon de l'Auto, héritage (Mar), Rose d'Or (Mar), Bol d'Or Mirabaud (Jun), Fête de la Musique (Jun), Geneva Peace Week (Nov), Fête de l'Escalade (Dec)

Starred tables

L'Atelier Robuchon ★★

A small canton with no upper tier in the usual sense. Braunwald is car-free, Klöntal and Elm are nature. It sells as an add-on to its neighbours rather than on its own.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

2 properties, 90 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

A dead-end valley with a single rail branch. Braunwald is car-free, reached by funicular from Linthal. That caps group arrivals by volume.

Destinations

Braunwald, Klöntal, Elm, Tektonikarena Sardona

The country's youngest canton, created in 1979. There is no upper tier, but there is the two-star Maison Wenger at Le Noirmont — a rare case of a dining layer existing without a hotel one.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

2 properties, 8 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

An hour and a quarter from Bern, but beyond that it is local lines and buses. Le Noirmont is reached on the narrow-gauge Chemins de fer du Jura.

Destinations

Delémont, Saint-Ursanne, Franches-Montagnes, Porrentruy

Starred tables

Maison Wenger ★★

The principal hub for group and Asian traffic: the city recorded 1.49 million overnights in 2025 on a small stock. The arrival of the Mandarin Oriental Palace in 2022 added a top step for the first time in decades, and the market is still adjusting to it.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

15 properties, 1 235 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

An hour from Bern, forty-five minutes from Zurich, a navigable lake inside the city. That is why Lucerne works as a day stop for groups and carries disproportionate traffic on a small stock.

Destinations

Luzern, Kapellbrücke, Rigi, Vitznau, Weggis, Pilatus, Sursee, Sempachersee, UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch

Events

Lucerne Festival im Winter (Jan), Luzerner Fasnacht (Feb), Blue Balls Festival (Jul), Lucerne Festival (Aug)

Starred tables

Colonnade ★★, focus ATELIER ★★

Watchmaking canton. La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle are UNESCO urban heritage, and people travel there on manufacture business rather than by guidebook. The hotel stock is shaped by that demand.

Seasonality

Year-round

Hotel stock

4 properties, 1 in the Key selection, 145 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Forty minutes from Bern, ninety from Geneva. La Chaux-de-Fonds sits higher on the plateau, and in winter that is a separate time calculation.

Destinations

Neuchâtel, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle, Creux du Van

Events

NIFFF, Ausklang (Sep)

Bürgenstock. One property on 60 hectares with three hotels and its own funicular changes the scale of the whole canton and holds three MICHELIN Keys. Everything else is lakeside addresses around Hergiswil and Stansstad.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

5 properties, 1 in the Key selection, 393 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Bürgenstock is linked to the lake by its own funicular from Kehrsiten — arriving by boat and riding up is part of the product, not merely a transfer.

Destinations

Bürgenstock, Hergiswil, Stanserhorn

Engelberg holds nearly the whole stock of the canton: Titlis year-round, the Kempinski Palace as the single top step. Melchsee-Frutt is the second, smaller centre. Outside those two there is effectively no upper tier.

Seasonality

Two peaks: Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

4 properties, 2 in the Key selection, 331 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Engelberg is the terminus of the branch from Lucerne, 43 minutes. Beyond that, cableways only. Melchsee-Frutt is reached by funicular from Stöckalp and is closed to cars in winter.

Destinations

Engelberg, Titlis, Melchsee-Frutt, Sachseln, Flüeli-Ranft

Events

Silvesterspringen (Dec)

The Rhine Falls is the country's most recognisable point and also the one nobody counts: access is free. The canton sells half a day on the road between Zurich and Lake Constance.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

3 properties, 102 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

The canton is surrounded by Germany on three sides. The Rhine Falls are fifteen minutes from the station, and almost all traffic is same-day, from Zurich or from across the border.

Destinations

Rheinfall, Schaffhausen, Munot, Stein am Rhein

A lake canton with two distinct products: Lake Lucerne at Brunnen and Morschach sells view and water, while Einsiedeln runs a pilgrimage calendar that does not line up with the tourist one.

Seasonality

Summer, May–October

Hotel stock

4 properties, 260 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

The A4 motorway and navigation on Lake Lucerne. Einsiedeln sits on its own branch and on pilgrimage days takes a flow unconnected to the tourist season.

Destinations

Einsiedeln, Brunnen, Morschach, Schwyz, Stoos

Events

Schwyzer Fasnacht (Jan), Klausjagen (Dec)

Starred tables

Magdalena ★★

A transit and business canton. Solothurn with its baroque old town and three starred tables in Olten, Trimbach and Riedholz — the dining layer here is stronger than the hotel one.

Seasonality

Year-round

Hotel stock

3 properties, 80 keys recorded

Airports

Grenchen (ZHI)

Access

Thirty-five minutes from Bern, on the Zurich–Geneva axis. The transit position is the main argument and the main limitation at once.

Destinations

Solothurn, Weissenstein, Olten, Riedholz, Attisholz

Bad Ragaz changes the scale of the whole canton: the Grand Resort holds three MICHELIN Keys, the three-star Memories and the two-star IGNIV within one perimeter. St. Gallen adds business and university demand, Pizol and Flumserberg the winter one.

Seasonality

Year-round, spa-driven

Hotel stock

8 properties, 1 in the Key selection, 823 keys recorded

Airports

St. Gallen-Altenrhein (ACH), Friedrichshafen (FDH)

Access

Bad Ragaz is two and a half hours from Bern and ninety minutes from Zurich, with the station in the village itself. St. Gallen sits on the axis into Austria; Altenrhein provides regional flights.

Destinations

Stiftsbezirk St. Gallen, Bad Ragaz, Pizol, Flumserberg, Wildhaus, Toggenburg, Walensee, Rorschach

Events

OLMA (Oct)

Starred tables

Memories ★★★, IGNIV by Andreas Caminada, Bad Ragaz ★★, Einstein Gourmet ★★

Lake Constance and two starred tables of unusual weight for the scale: the two-star Mammertsberg at Freidorf and Taverne zum Schäfli at Wigoltingen. Dining here runs ahead of the hotel stock.

Seasonality

April–October, peak Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

3 properties, 134 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Lake Constance with shipping to Germany and Austria. Kreuzlingen has grown together with German Konstanz and the border runs down a street — convenient for routing, a reason to check the perimeter when counting.

Destinations

Kreuzlingen, Bodensee, Arenenberg, Frauenfeld, Kartause Ittingen

Events

Wega Weinfelden (Nov)

Starred tables

Mammertsberg ★★, Taverne zum Schäfli ★★

The Italian-speaking south with its own seasonality: summer peak, near-empty winter. Ascona and Lugano hold the entire upper tier. In winter 2025/26 the region posted +7.2% overnights, the strongest growth among resort regions.

Seasonality

April–October, peak Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

15 properties, 5 in the Key selection, 922 keys recorded

Airports

Lugano-Agno (LUG), Milano Malpensa (MXP), Milano Bergamo (BGY)

Access

The main gateway is Milan Malpensa, not a Swiss airport. The Gotthard base tunnel cut the run from Zurich to two hours and moved Ticino into day range of the German-speaking part.

Destinations

Lugano, Ascona, Locarno, Castelli di Bellinzona, Monte Verità, Valle Verzasca, Vallemaggia, Monte Generoso, Morcote, Mendrisio, Airolo, Leventina

Events

Carnevale Nebiopoli (Feb), Moon and Stars (Jul), Locarno Film Festival (Aug), Sagra del Borgo (Sep), Festa della Castagna (Oct)

Starred tables

La Brezza, Ascona ★★, Ecco Ascona ★★

A single-project canton. Andermatt has been rebuilt from a transit village on the pass into a resort from scratch: The Chedi, Radisson Blu, golf and two starred tables, including the two-star IGNIV opened in 2025. Decisions on the properties are taken in one place, which is unusual.

Seasonality

Two peaks: Dec–Mar and Jul–Aug

Hotel stock

3 properties, 407 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

The Gotthard axis: the base tunnel took the transit underground and left the old mountain line as a panoramic route. Andermatt is reached changing at Göschenen — in winter the only way into the valley.

Destinations

Andermatt, Gotthardpass, Furkapass, Altdorf, Rütli

Events

Gotthard Bergrennen (Jun)

Starred tables

The Japanese Restaurant ★★, IGNIV by Andreas Caminada, Andermatt ★★

The strongest growth of 2025: +170,000 overnights, +5.8%, the region's best result in thirty years. Lausanne, Montreux and Vevey hold the lakefront, Crissier the three-star table, Villars and Leysin the winter part. The Olympic movement in Lausanne generates a separate, non-tourist flow.

Seasonality

Year-round

Hotel stock

17 properties, 6 in the Key selection, 1 492 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Geneva airport is forty minutes from Lausanne — in practice the canton is served by its neighbour. The lakeside line connects Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux at half-hourly intervals.

Destinations

Lausanne, Musée Olympique, Montreux, Château de Chillon, Vevey, Lavaux, Villars-sur-Ollon, Leysin, Les Diablerets, Château-d'Œx, Nyon, Morges, Yverdon-les-Bains, Rolle, La Côte

Events

Festival International de Ballons (Jan), Cully Jazz Festival (May), Fête des Vignerons (May), Montreux Jazz Festival (Jul), Paléo Festival (Jul), Fête des Vendanges (Sep), Guide MICHELIN Suisse (Oct), Marché de Noël de Montreux (Dec)

Starred tables

Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville ★★★, Anne-Sophie Pic ★★, La Table de Lausanne Palace ★★

Pure business geography: low taxes, a density of head offices, demand for corporate rooms and meeting space. There is almost no leisure component, which simplifies the conversation.

Seasonality

Year-round, business rhythm

Hotel stock

3 properties, 190 keys recorded

Airports

no airport of its own

Access

Twenty-five minutes from Zurich, an hour from Bern. The canton sells on exactly that figure: a meeting room in Zug is reachable from both business centres in one morning.

Destinations

Zug, Zugersee, Menzingen

The country's largest business market and its main air gateway: 32.6 million passengers through Kloten in 2025. Demand is level all year with a dip in the holiday weeks. The upper tier here is urban, not resort: negotiations follow the corporate contracting calendar, not the season.

Seasonality

Year-round, business rhythm

Hotel stock

22 properties, 1 in the Key selection, 2 659 keys recorded

Airports

Zürich (ZRH)

Access

The airport is ten minutes from the main station by direct train, and the whole country follows. For a long-haul guest Zurich is almost always the first point on the ground.

Destinations

Zürich Altstadt, Bahnhofstrasse, Zürichsee, Uetliberg, Winterthur, Rapperswil, Küsnacht, Kilchberg

Events

Sechseläuten (Mar), Zürcher Frühlingsfest (Apr), Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Vorlauf (May), Weltklasse Zürich (May), Street Parade (Aug), Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Aug), Weltklasse Zürich (Aug), Knabenschiessen (Sep), Zürich Marathon, Herbstlauf (Sep), Zurich Film Festival (Oct), Kunst Zürich (Nov)

Starred tables

IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada ★★, The Counter ★★, The Restaurant ★★, Widder Restaurant ★★