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Lausanne: all-time record of overnight stays
Press release
With 1,227,800 recorded overnight stays in the Vaud capital last year, Lausanne exceeded by more than 11,000 nights the previous record of 1964, year of the National Exhibition. This historic result confirms the constant progression and growing attractiveness of the Olympic Capital.
After coming close last year to the historic level of 1964, Lausanne Tourisme is delighted to announce that 2017 was the year that beat all records regarding overnight stays. With a little over a 2% increase compared to 2016, 1,227,800 nights were registered in 2017, that is 11,444 more than during the year of the Expo64.
Strengthening leisure tourism and distant markets
Whereas Lausanne is ranked amongst the top Swiss destinations for the organisation of congresses and events, it’s towards leisure tourism we need to look to find an explanation for this improvement. The actions taken to promote the Olympic Capital abroad and the City’s vitality in terms of events have attracted many visitors all year round, with strong growth during the summer and a particularly marked peak in July. The broadening offer of leisure activities and the quality of hotel facilities had a major impact on the results, as did Lausanne Tourisme’s increased presence in the different markets and on social media.
Regarding the origin of visitors, Swiss and French overnight stays represent respectively 42.57% and 10.91% of market share. Amongst the significant figures for distant markets, Lausanne Tourisme notes a 5.3% progression of American overnight stays and a strong increase from China (+23.67%). The most spectacular rise, however, is that of the Thai market, practically doubling compared to 2016 (+79%). This exceptional figure is explained by the fact that Lausanne has become a place of pilgrimage for many tourists from the Kingdom of Siam, the late king of which grew up in the Vaud capital.
For Steeve Pasche, Director of Lausanne Tourisme, “It’s fantastic to break that all-time record! It’s the confirmation of the growth observed in recent years. The excellent collaboration of all Lausanne Tourisme’s partners and their invaluable support are rewarded by this exceptional result.”
For further information, please contact:
Olivia Bosshart, Press & Public Relations Manager
Laura Ragonese, Media & Press coordinator