The value of the British pound has almost recovered the value it lost against the Swiss Franc six weeks ago when the Swiss Central bank decided to no longer tie its exchange rate to the Euro, causing the Franc’s value to soar against most other currencies.
At that point on January 15th the pound dropped from buying 1.55 Swiss France to a low of buying only around 1.3 Swiss francs overnight.
Coming soon after a change to Swiss law had put the cost of employing chalet staff in the country up dramatically for British operators, it was feared that this sudden increase in costs could be the death knell for mainstream ski tourism to Switzerland.
Since then however the value of the pound has rapidly regained lost ground and has recovered by more than 12% back up to buying 1.47 Swiss francs – virtually the same as its value 12 months ago, and the current trend continues upwards in the pound’s value.
“Exchange rates have been a pertinent subject for Switzerland Tourism since January 15th 2015 when the National Bank decided the discontinuation of the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per Euro,” said Sara Roloff, Manager of Media and Communications UK & Ireland at Switzerland Tourism, who added, “The Euro will remain a challenge for tourism in Switzerland this summer, but we’re happy to see that the Pound has recovered quickly and the exchange rate CHF/£ is almost back to where it was a year ago.”
Despite fears expressed by some in the industry that British tourism to Switzerland was doomed even before the currency fluctuations, the country reported a 1.7% growth in overnight stays by Brits in 2014, thanks in part to a jump of 7.1% in December at the start of the ski season. The UK is Switzerland’s second biggest market after Germany.