Alex Hermann of Swiss Tourism and Jenny Piaget, Switzerland’s ambassador to Ireland hosted Irish travel media at the Swiss embassy. Ireland is the fourth fastest growing inbound market to Switzerland since pandemic, a period when the country has seen an unprecedented boom in tourism. Tourism overnight stays are up 1..8pc in the first half of 2025.
The group watched presentations from the Swiss regions, on the envied Swiss public transport system and on the six Swiss wine regions. Seasonality, high end tourism and dispersal, in common with other tourist boards, are at the heart of Switzerland’s marketing. Cycling tours are becoming increasingly popular since the advent of e-bikes. “E bikes save marriages,” said Alex Hermann of Swiss Tourism.
On the initiative of the ambassador, a recent exhibition in the National Museum, Words on the waves, showcased the Irish manuscripts of Saint Gallen which served as a Rosetta Stone for early Irish literature. A reciprocal exhibition will take place in Zurich in 2027. A group of Irish people are retracing the Saint Gallen pilgrimage next year through Switzerland to Bobbio in Italy.
