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rfmcdonaldThe appreciation of the Swiss franc relative to the Euro has made Switzerland less attractive as a destination for tourists. Seeing as how Switzerland is literally surrounded by the Eurozone, this isn't a good thing.
Even basic meals are considerably more expensive.
(In Canada, too.)
The country has become 15 percent more expensive for tourists from the euro region because of the franc’s rally, said Juerg Schmid, the Zurich-based head of Switzerland Tourism marketing group. A global survey of 73 urban centers by UBS AG found that Zurich is the second-least affordable city after Oslo.
Switzerland lost about 2 percent of hotel visitors from Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, during the first half of the summer season, according to the BAK Basel Economics research institute. As the country’s central bank stops trying to suppress gains, the currency may rise further with investors concerned about a global economic slowdown seeking the safety of the franc.
The Swiss currency strengthened to a record 1.2766 versus the euro on Sept. 8. It advanced 4.7 percent against the dollar this year, reaching parity on Sept. 14 for the first time in almost 10 months.
[. . .]
In Zurich, where artists from Lauren Bacall to Andy Warhol dined at the historic Kronenhalle restaurant, tourism accounts for 3.2 percent of gross domestic product. That compares with 5 percent in Vienna and as much as 6 percent in London.
Even basic meals are considerably more expensive.
A McDonald’s Big Mac costs $6.19 in Switzerland, compared with $3.73 in the U.S. and $4.33 in the euro area, according to data compiled by The Economist. The figures are based on so- called purchasing power parity, which states that the dollar should buy the same amount in all countries.
“I spent 13 francs on a McDonald’s meal and I didn’t even get a refill,” said Julio Cesar Ponce, a 30-year-old computer- science researcher from Aguascalientes, Mexico, who was standing on a Zurich bridge overlooking the Limmat river. In the U.S., that meal would have cost about half the money, he said.
(In Canada, too.)
