For years, the USA was one of the favourite travel destinations for Swiss tourists. But this is no longer the case, industry insiders say.
The weaker dollar/stronger franc conversion rate makes it worthwhile for people from Switzerland to fly to the United States.
But since 2025, the opposite has been happening: fewer Swiss tourists travel to the USA.
Travel industry figures show that while 60,883 tourists from Switzerland arrived in the United States between January 1st and March 31st, 2024, in 2025, the number dropped to 48,712 during the same period.
And this downward trend is expected to continue in 2026 as well.
“We expect a drop in arrivals from Switzerland in 2026, of around 20 to 25 percent,” said Heinz Zimmermann, president of the Visit USA (Vusa) committee, working to promote the United States as a tourist destination.
Swiss airlines are seeing this decline as well.
Edelweiss, which flies from Zurich to Denver, Las Vegas, Seattle, and Tampa, acknowledges that “bookings to the United States are currently proving more challenging,” according to the company spokesperson.
“Given the geopolitical situation, we are seeing an overall decline in bookings among Swiss travellers.”
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‘The Trump slump’
Martin Wittwer, president of the Swiss Travel Association (SRV) attributed this drop in Swiss tourists to Donald Trump’s policies – both globally and toward Switzerland as well.
(For instance,Trump admitted imposing hefty punitive trade tariiffs on Switzerland because he didn’t like the way former Swiss president, Karin Keller-Sutter, “talked to me.”)
“This situation is upsetting many people in Switzerland and they choose to no longer fly to the United States,” Wittwer said – a phenomenon that Swiss media is calling “the Trump slump.”
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Other travel experts agree.
“The image of the United States has deteriorated terribly; Trump’s policies are having a devastating effect on international tourism,” David O’Donnell, vice president of communications for Meet Boston, the region’s tourism office, told Swiss media.
This situation is all the more frustrating for major cities, including Boston, which are generally more progressive and oppose Trump’s policies.
