Press Releases

Switzerland’s tourism sector is poised for a recovery this year following its pandemic-induced slump. Domestic tourists and travellers from other European countries at least will soon be returning, according to KOF’s forecast. In contrast, the prospects for any normalisation in the situation for long-distance and business travellers are bleak.

As expected by KOF, the Swiss economy experienced a deep red 2nd quarter, even if the slump was less severe by international standards. However, the situation is very uneven between and within the individual sectors. The consequences of the crisis are also clearly evident in the labour market - the low point has probably not yet been reached. KOF is leaving its forecast for GDP growth in 2020 almost unchanged at -4.7%. In 2021, it expects a plus of 3.7%.

KOF continues to expect healthcare spending in Switzerland to rise by 3.8 per cent this year. This growth will edge up to 3.9 per cent in the next two years. The causes of this healthcare spending increase are rising wages and the growing proportion of elderly people. These are among the findings of the twice-yearly KOF Healthcare Expenditure Forecast, which has been compiled with the help of research funding provided by comparis.ch.

Robust economic growth of 0.6 percent can be expected in the first and second quarters of 2018, according to the ifo Institute (Munich), KOF (Zurich) and Istat (Rome). Growth will slow down marginally to 0.5 percent in the third quarter. The key drivers are investments, which will benefit from low interest rates, and rising capacity utilisation rates.