GENEVA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The latest batch of Swiss tourism statistics released on Monday pointed to a marked rise in the number of overnight stays in holiday homes, hostels and campgrounds in 2017 in the Alpine country.
The figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) showed that overnight stays in non-hotel accommodation rose by 6.7 percent in 2017 to 15.9 million.
This is seen as a boost to the overall trend of a resurgent tourism sector in a country where hotel prices can be among the highest in the world in some parts.
In 2017, commercially-run holiday homes accounted for the majority of overnight stays in supplementary accommodation (46.1 percent) with a total of 7.3 million overnight stays.
In the Lake Geneva region in the west, where hotel prices can be high, there was the strongest demand with a total of 3.2 million overnight stays, followed by Eastern Switzerland (2.1 million).
Swiss tourists accounted for over two-thirds of the demand (10.8 million overnight stays, a rise of 7 percent on 2016).
Of the foreign influx, over four-fifths were from European countries; non-European visitors increased at a slower rate.
Holiday homes accounted for about half of the stays in this "non-hotel" sector, where the average length of visit was just shy of a week.
Campgrounds also grew in popularity, with overnight stays increasing by 13.9 percent to 3.2 million.
The figures do not include platforms such as Airbnb, the statistical office said.
By comparison, figures from 2016 showed some 1.35 million overnight stays made in Switzerland via Airbnb.
Combined with other recent stats on hotels, Monday's figures bring the total increase in overnight stays to 53.3 million in 2017, an increase of 5.7 percent on the previous year.
