Tourism in Switzerland - Literature review Example

? Tourism in Switzerland Macro-economic factors, especially currency fluctuation, have significant impact on tourism in a country. Recently, Swiss franc has been strengthening against the world’s major currencies such as the U.S. dollar, euro, and British pound. Currency fluctuation has had negative impacts on tourism in Switzerland because it has led to high prices that have discouraged will-be tourists to shy away from visiting the country. However, the impact has not been extensive because of a number of factors such as new types of tourism like health and medical tourism, strong financial services in the country, and ability of the industry players in the country to deal with the situation. Impact of Currency Fluctuation on Tourism in Switzerland Over the years, tourism has been one of the greatest phenomena that enhance human interactions, cultural exchanges, leisure activities, and economic advancements among other benefits. It is agreeable that people across the world learn new things and experience new things through tourism (Elliott and Johns, 1993). Tourism entails activities of individual or group of individuals travelling to destinations and staying in environments that are away from their usual environment for a particular period of time for leisure, pilgrimage, business and other purposes (Lundberg et al, 2005). Tourism has provided the human species with the opportunity to explore new environments and travel to various parts of the world with fewer restrictions, a scenario which would otherwise be unattainable. Due to tourism and benefits derived from it, countries hosting tourism destinations have relaxed their rules and laws on visitors visiting for tourism reasons (Reynard, 2008). Actually, in most cases, countries have offered both the social and economic incentives to encourage more tourists to visit their countries. Most, if not all countries in the world, have at least one or more tourist destinations (Bhatia, 2004). That fact notwithstanding, there are countries that are preferred by tourists more compared to other countries. This scenario can be attributed to a number of factors that include but are not limited to political stability in particular countries; types and qualities of tourist destinations in particular countries; socio-cultural factors; level of technological advancements; and economic factors such as currency fluctuation (Fyall & Garrod 2005). These factors not only affect the number of tourists visiting particular countries, but they also influence the frequency of their visits to those countries (Kirchgassner, 2009). In Europe, Switzerland is one of the most preferred tourist destinations. The history of tourism in Switzerland can be traced back to mid 19th century (Switzerland: Market profile, 2005). Since that time it has developed to become one of the most sophisticated industries in the country that has a considerable contribution to the country’s economy. Besides, tourism has enhanced trade and foreign relations of Switzerland with the rest of the world (Hopkins et al, 2002). The tourism infrastructure in Switzerland is one of the highly developed across the world, concentrated mostly in the cities and mountainous regions (Sommerville, 2011). Switzerland’s landscapes and Alpine climate are cited as one of the main tourists’ attractions in Switzerland. Along with that, Switzerland has one of the greatest and most diverse commercial hubs, thus making it the preferred destination for tourists (Edgell, 2008). The role of tourism in the economy of Switzerland is significant; it accounts for over four percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additionally, tourism industry in the country has helped in bridging the unemployment rates as it creates employment opportunities both in the urban and rural areas (Datamonitor, 2010). Groux & Jesswein (2011) explain that tourism industry, just like most industries operating in the business environment, is subject to external environmental factors, socio-cultural, technological, political, and economic factors, which impact on their operations and performance in one way or another. Tourism industry in Switzerland is no exception. This discussion will focus on the impact of economic factors on tourism in Switzerland, with particular reference to currency fluctuation. Various studies have shown that among economic factors that impact on business environments such as inflation, interest rates, currency fluctuation, and public expenditure, as well as taxation, currency fluctuation has the greatest impact on tourism in most countries across the world (Curral, et al, 1999). According to Veal (2006), currency fluctuations refer to a tendency of national currencies to change relative to the currencies of other nations at a given period of time. Currency fluctuations can be attributed to the following factors: unemployment rates, political and social stability, country’s economic strength, increased of reduced demand for a certain currency, and interest rates among others (Fischer, 2002). The effects of currency fluctuations are immense and are felt far and wide in the tourism industry as it has effects on foreign exchange rates, international and local travel, and cost of visiting destinations in particular countries, as well as price of commodities among others (Bieger et al, 2005). Currency fluctuation in Switzerland affects not only the international tourists but also the local tourists (Veal, 2006). When the Swiss Franc currency is weak, more tourists are encouraged to visit Switzerland as they will be able to get more Francs for their money. On the other hand, when the Swiss franc is strong, tourists are less likely to visit Switzerland as they will get less Swiss francs for their money. The impact of currency fluctuations on tourism is twofold (Punch, 1998). Strengthening exchange rates lead to international destinations becoming relatively cheaper for outbound tourists. On the other hand, strengthening exchange rates lead to destinations becoming more expensive for inbound foreign tourists (Bieger, and Laesser, 2002). Therefore, strong Swiss franc implies that Swiss citizens will find it more affordable to visit foreign tourist destinations. Conversely, inbound foreign tourists will find it relatively expensive to visit destinations in Switzerland (Brida et al, 2010). From both folds, it is clear that Switzerland’s tourism is bound to be affected negatively by strengthening exchange rates. This is because local travellers will find it more affordable to visit international destinations than the local destinations. In this case, local tourists will be diverted from visiting local destinations, thus denying the national tourism industry the revenues it obtains from them. Conversely, since international foreign tourists will find visiting Switzerland a relatively more expensive venture (Dwyer et al, 2010). As a result, Swiss is bound to lose foreign exchange that it would have gained from inbound foreign tourists if the Swiss franc would have been weaker. Vellas and Be?cherel (1995) argue that the impact of currency fluctuations on tourism also applies to hotel investors (existing and potential) who are intending to invest or make purchases in the industry. The exchange rates determine whether a country is viable for investment in the industry or not (Tribe, 2005). Most investors usually try to compare the cost of investment and subsequent costs of operation of that business with the expected returns on investments (Cooper, 2005). Countries with strong currencies are considered to be expensive to invest and conduct business in (Sinclair and Stabler, 1997). Therefore, potential investors usually avoid investing and conducting business in them because of two main factors: high cost of starting the business; and extended period to break even (Cooper, and Hall, 2008). In the light of this, it is clear that Switzerland may lose on new investments because of its strong currency. Consequently, the country may fail to compete effectively with some of European countries for customers because of relatively lower investment in its tourism industry (Stabler et al, 2010). This scenario has already occurred in some European countries; for example, Sweden and Norway are experiencing increased investment in their tourism industry because of their weakening exchange rates compared to Finland and Denmark (Balekjian and Sarheim, 2011). The value of Swiss franc has risen by more than 10 percent against the euro thus making exports from Switzerland to be more expensive to the foreign buyers. The fact that exporters are very susceptible to currency fluctuations cannot be disputed (Goeldner and Ritchie, 2006). From the economic point of view, tourism is considered as an export because it helps the country to earn foreign exchange. Strengthening of Swiss franc has been attributed to health growth of Switzerland’s economy even in the face of global financial crisis. When the currencies of other European countries were depreciating during the crisis, Swiss franc was appreciating. This further compounded the problem of currency fluctuation on tourism in Switzerland because most of the visitors to the country’s tourist destinations are from Europe (Budeanu, 2005). However, negative effects of currency fluctuation on tourism in Switzerland has escaped the attention of many especially those outside the industry because most of them do not view the industry as an export (Switzerland: In-depth PESTLE insights, 2011). The impact of currency fluctuation was severely felt in 2008, at the height of global financial crisis. During that time the cost of overnight stay in Swiss cities rose by about 1.3 percent. This resulted to the decrease in the number of tourists visiting the country; most of the visitors during that time were the business travellers. The effects were evident in southern Switzerland regions such as Tessin where the number of visitors fell greatly. Likewise, destinations such as Davos and St. Moritz which are well-known did not record good number of visitors despite being well- known destinations (Fox, 2011).. These effects were felt because tourism is highly sensitive to prices. As a result of high prices in Switzerland’s destinations, potential visitors, especially those from the European nations, preferred other destinations within Europe that were relatively cheaper by the virtue of use of euro currency (Webb, 2011). According to the Euromonitor International (2011), tourists visiting Switzerland have continued to feel the pinch of strengthened Swiss Franc even after the global financial crisis has faded. This view is also shared by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) that recognizes that tourism is the most resilient industry but also acknowledges that economic factors such as currency fluctuation may have adverse consequences to the industry. Currency fluctuation, particularly in Switzerland, has led to the drop in tourism business, a situation attributed to its effects on industry’s top end. It has adversely impacted on luxury and business travel which has hit not only the high-end hotel chains hard, but also the airlines. As a result of strong Swiss franc, potential tourists have found travelling to Switzerland and subsequent “holidaying” expensive. In another respect, currency fluctuation has had negative effects on top-end in the sense that the bottom- end is benefiting from the currency fluctuation. Most travellers have preferred low- cost carriers and all- inclusive holidays which have adversely impacted on the revenues of the Switzerland’s hotels (Ewing (2010). Since tourism is very important in the Switzerland economy, players in financial system and tourism industry usually put a lot of efforts in ensuring economic climate, and more specifically currency stability, is favourable for tourism. This explains why the Switzerland National Bank put a lot of efforts in 2010 and 2011 in order to prevent further strengthening of the franc especially against the euro which was having negative impacts on the country’s tourism sector. Besides, such efforts have been informed by the fact that tourism sector has proved to be highly sensitive about prices. As such, the need for maintaining currency stability has been greater in order to make Switzerland tourist destinations especially the Swiss Alps more competitive compared to other destinations such as those in Italy, Germany, France, and Austria Ewing (2010). Tourists’ destinations in the aforementioned countries offer plenty of mountainous destinations, as well as hiking and skiing opportunities that also form crucial features of tourist destinations in Switzerland. Ewing (2010) argues that since these countries are members of the EU and use euro as their currency and most tourists visiting Switzerland come from these countries, paying adequate attention to the fluctuation of Swiss currency will be important so as to avoid losing Swiss- destined tourists to its neighbouring countries; tourists tend to prefer countries where they can enjoy relatively lower prices for services and products. According to Datamonitor (2011), the appreciating Swiss Franc is threatening tourism industry in Switzerland in the long- run. Swiss Franc has been appreciating in recent years especially against the Euro, thus, posing a serious threat to the industry as the number of tourists may reduce due to comparative higher prices of services and products in the country. The value of Swiss Franc has been rising continuously against major currencies in the world such as the euro, the United States dollar, and the British pound. As a result, tourists visiting Switzerland especially from these countries (these countries form the greatest percentage of tourists visiting Switzerland) have been getting less Francs for their money. Therefore, they have been finding there money quite insufficient for the services they had intended to pay for. Similarly, high value of the Swiss currency has resulted to higher prices of commodities and services; tourists often find the services relatively expensive. This has a possibility of hurting their chances of visiting the country in subsequent years. The Swiss National Bank is alive to the negative effects of the strengthening franc and that is why it has made efforts to mitigate these effects. For example, in 2009 and 2010 the bank bought huge amounts of euro. Nonetheless, experts argue that this effort did little to prevent the impact of the strong franc on the tourists. In a bid to check on the strengthening of Swiss Franc, the government has extended a stimulus package that seeks to offset the impact of franc appreciation on the Switzerland economy. The move by the Swiss National Bank and the government is informed by the realization that currency stability is important not only to the tourism industry but to the whole economy as well (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, 2011). As a matter of fact, there are fears that the Swiss franc will continue to strengthen and this may continue hurting the tourism industry in Switzerland. According to KOF Swiss Economic Institute (2011), The Swiss franc will continue to strengthen and this will not only hurt the tourism industry but will also undermine the economic growth and development of the country in 2012. The persisting strength of Swiss franc and weak economic development are considered by experts as the main factors that will lead to stagnation of the country’s economy in 2012. Therefore, unless sufficient and appropriate measures are put in place, tourism industry in Switzerland may not perform optimally. This implies that strong Swiss franc will continue putting pressure on prices of tourism products and services. Existing data show that tourism export has been declining since 2010’s 4th quarter (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, 2011). This trend is expected to continue in the near future as most of the countries in Europe are yet to fully come out of the financial crisis. Evidently, the problem of currency fluctuation in Switzerland is externally-induced. As such, there is nothing much that can be done from within the country to resolve the problem. Strengthening of Euro and economic stability in Europe are the only factors that can bring realistic solution to the currency fluctuation in Switzerland. However, the future of tourism industry in Switzerland is not all that bleak in the face of currency fluctuation in the country, as will be noted in the subsequent paragraphs of this paper. Swiss Tourism Federation (2007) notes that despite the fact that the tourism sector being one of the crucial sectors in the Swiss economy and in providing employment to the Swiss citizens, the government input has not been quite significant apart from providing some tax subsidies. The Federation argues that this situation coupled with currency fluctuation may have very detrimental consequences to the tourism industry, both in the short and long run. The Federation further notes that, presently, Switzerland is having a wide and diverse pool of current and prospective tourists, who are attracted to the major attractions of tourism in Switzerland providing fantastic opportunities to enjoy both the summer and winter periods. This pool includes tourists from Germany, the United States (these two forms the largest pool), and other countries in the world (The Economic Intelligence Unit 2005). More importantly, the prospects of Swiss tourist industry are boosted by the enthusiastic Swiss travellers who contribute immensely to the growth of the industry in the country. However, all these prospects and opportunities may fade in the near future if the challenge of currency fluctuation is not addressed adequately and timely. Luzzi and Yves (2003) argue that this possibility may be further compounded by other factors that are non-currency related such as decrease in number of direct flights but have significant bearing to the performance of tourism industry in general. That notwithstanding, economic factors tend to have the greatest impact on performance in tourism industry compared to other factors. This assertion can be supported by the effects of the recent global financial crisis that led to global slump in the tourism industry (Dhar, 2006). Usually, human beings have competing needs; therefore, in situations where they are experiencing scarcity, they are forced to make choices. Since tourism is a leisure activity and may not be considered as a basic need, human beings tend to prefer meeting basic needs at the expense of tourism when their disposable income has diminished (Witt and Witt, 1992). Various studies have shown that currency fluctuation has significant consequences on tourism industry in general. Too high or too low currency rates tend to affect pricing decisions of tourism products and services. Hotels integrate currency fluctuations and pricing in their revenue management strategies. An addition, currency fluctuation affects the occupancy rates. According to the Economic Intelligence Unit (2011), the strengthening Swiss Franc has led to declining number of tourists visiting Switzerland. Strong franc implies that the visitors get fewer francs in exchange of their money, thus, making purchase of products and services expensive for them. As a result, international and local tourists have found it relatively expensive to visit destinations in Switzerland; instead, they prefer visiting relatively cheaper destinations in other countries such as the US, Germany, Italy, UK, AND Spain among others. Although other factors affect tourism in Switzerland, currency fluctuation has in most cases the greatest impact on the tourism industry (Glion Institute of Higher Education 2011). The Glion Institute of Higher Education attributes decrease in tourism activities both in the past and present to strong Swiss franc. Holidays in Switzerland tend to be more expensive compared to most destinations in the world because of strong Swiss francs. As noted, the problem of strong Swiss franc becomes more complicated by other factors that make the tourists to opt for other cheaper destinations. So, how do various players in the tourism industry respond to currency fluctuation? Just like in other business, the main objective of players in the tourism industry is to remain competitive and make profit (Frangialli and World Tourism Organization, 2004). In order to achieve this, they have to devise strategies that not only increase their competitiveness but also help them counter the risks they are exposed to such as currency fluctuation. For example, currency fluctuations lead to changes in the prices of fuel which is critical in tourism industry especially in regard to tour travel. Strong Swiss franc results to high fuel prices which eventually lead to increased cost of production. As a result, the hoteliers are forced to raise their costs in order to increase their revenues and eventually make profit (Bieger and Laesser, 2005). Additionally, since the tour operators work hand in hand with the hotels, are often forced to integrate currency fluctuations and pricing in their revenue management strategies. In most cases, tour operators agree the amount with the hoteliers and transporters in other countries. They either increase or decrease their prices according to the movements of currency in a given country. However, this strategy is bound to be interfered with in an event that currency fluctuation is not in tandem with that of the other countries. In this case, the Swiss hotels and tour operators are disadvantaged because strengthening of the country’s currency is not in tandem with that of other countries. This has detrimental effects to tourism in Switzerland because international tourists find products and services in Switzerland to be relatively expensive (Jackson et al, 2008). Furthermore, Webb (2011) notes that the strength of the Swiss franc has resulted to increase in the price of food commodities making international and local tourists to shy away from the country’s destinations. It is agreeable that, food, as a basic need is a key component during the period which the tourist is visiting particular destination. Tourists usually budget for food, above all things. Therefore, if food prices are high it implies that the cost involved in visiting a destination will be relatively higher. Between 2010 and 2011, the prices of food commodities in Switzerland have trebled as the appreciating value of the currency makes commodities expensive (Webb, 2011). Relatively cheaper food prices in other countries such as Germany that are using Euro have threatened tourism industry in Switzerland as most tourists prefer such destination. Nonetheless, several studies have shown that currency fluctuation may not have such a considerable effect to tourism industries especially in countries that have a well- established industry and clientele. Similarly, too high exchange rates may be a motivation for a certain “niche” of tourists to visit the country (Swiss Tourism Federation, 2007). This is because some tourists prefer “high-end” destinations because they believe that such destinations are more lucrative. In business, “high costs” are often equated to “high- quality”. Therefore, some tourists prefer destinations that are of high costs as they believe they will always get value for their money. In addition, high-end destination is preferred by certain niche of tourists due to the fact that a greater portion of the population cannot afford and therefore the destinations would not be congested at any given time. The fact that Switzerland has not been affected considerably by currency fluctuation is a proof that it may not often have much effect in regard to the choice of destinations by tourists’ choice of their destinations (Swiss Tourism Federation (2007). This is because in some cases some tourists do not mind the cost as long as they are assured of obtaining quality services, performing activities and gaining access to sites, and that are rare or exclusive to some destinations. For instance, despite the appreciating Swiss franc, Switzerland’s ski resorts are still some of the most attractive across the world especially among the holidaymakers from Europe. Moreover, the tourism industry in Switzerland has promoted the country as having favoured destination for health-related holidays, having clean air, excellent environment, and top- class facilities. More importantly, the presence of high number of international organizations in Switzerland has boosted the tourism prospects of the country; their presence means that the country attracts “high- end” individuals with high disposable income who are willing to spend expensively on the country’s tourism products and services The Economist Intelligence Unit (2005). Presence of international and multi-national organizations especially in the cities of Geneva and Zurich helps the country to record high numbers of business travellers thus contributing to tourism through “business tourism”. In the light of this, it is evidently clear that, in some cases currency fluctuation may not really affect the performance of tourism activities in a particular country, based on some aspects such as type of tourists, quality of product and services, and the nature of destinations among others (Gee and Fayos, 2009). In as much as it is agreeable that currency fluctuation is having negative effects on tourism industry in Switzerland, it is also agreeable that the industry in the country is well-placed to wither these effects. As noted, this scenario can be attributed to several reasons. The first reason is that the country offers a good number of premium destinations that tend to defy macro-economic forces. The cost of living in Switzerland is very high; the country is ranked as fifth country in the world in terms of cost of living. Datamonitor (2011) notes that the country is a high-end location and can never be a mass destination. Additionally, the demographic trend of the country favours premium destination; the country has a more affluent though ageing generation. Moreover, more affluent but ageing generation from key European markets and North America find Switzerland as the most suitable destination for their visits because they consider the country ecologically sound, safe and comfortable. The second factor that makes the country to effectively wither the effects of currency fluctuation is the rapid growth of health tourism in the country. In recent times, Switzerland has experienced strong growth in the area of health and medical tourism. Since remarkable segment of the high-end tourists are conscious about their health and fitness, the growth of this type of tourism in Switzerland has strategically placed the country in attracting such kind of tourists. Tourists believe that this type of tourism offers them more than just leisure; it offers them the most searched wellness and tranquillity (Tejada and Linan, 2009). The ageing and affluent consumer demographic in most developed countries are able and willing to spend their money and time to travel abroad for medical and health tourism, in combination with leisure. Switzerland has already tapped on this market which is becoming a lucrative and fast-growing area in the tourism market. These aspects of tourism that Switzerland has embraced have gone a long way in cushioning the country against adverse effects of macro-economic factors (Ewing, 2010). The openness of tourism sector in Switzerland, as well as the location and size of the country, have helped the country to avoid immense threats of strong Swiss franc. Strengthening of the country’s currency is nothing new as the country has witnessed some instances of the same in past decades. As such, the tourism players in the country have learnt how to deal with the problem of currency fluctuation. The emergence of new types of tourism such as medical and health tourism are some of the evidence of the industry players responding to currency fluctuation problem (Stabler, 2010). They have been forced to focus on quality and innovation rather than cost management, a strategy that has really helped them wither the adverse effects of currency fluctuation and actually survive. Even though currency fluctuations are known to have serious implications on profits and revenues of companies, Swiss tourism companies are performing quite well. According to Ewing (2010), currency fluctuations usually have serious consequences on revenues and profits of companies operating in a mass market. Therefore, since most tourism companies in Switzerland are not in that category, they cannot be adversely affected by exchange rate fluctuations. Most of them are specialised type of players who are targeting high- end market, and therefore, the issue of price is not of much consequence. Glion Institute of Higher Education (2011) argues that overestimation of exchange rates fluctuation in Switzerland has further compounded the problem in tourism industry in the country as most of the will- be tourists are worried of the prices in the country. He, therefore, advises that these effects should not be overestimated because the effects may not be as high as proclaimed to be. Besides, the fact that the Swiss tourism companies have learnt to deal with the problem means that the problem may not be big as it seems to be. For decades, these companies have gained a near unrivalled competitiveness which is actually not defined by price tags on products and services. Apart from these companies being well-positioned, they are underpinned by solid financial companies that can help in financing companies in tourism industry, thus, helping them deal with exchange rates fluctuations (Cooper and Hall, 2008). In conclusion, it is evidently clear from the discussion that macro-economic factors, especially currency fluctuation, have significant impact on tourism in a country. In recent years, Swiss franc has been strengthening against the world’s major currencies such as the U.S. dollar, euro, and British pound. 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