Women’s EURO 2025: Switzerland Hits Attendance Records

From July 2 to 27, Switzerland won over football fans and positioned itself as a top international destination: 35% of tickets were sold to foreign fans from 160 countries, and almost all matches were sold out. A total of 657,300 spectators attended the competition in person and 500 million watched it on television.

This was a real success for Swiss tourism, as highlighted in a press release from Switzerland Tourism. The host cities reported very satisfactory hotel occupancy rates, particularly from Icelandic fans, who stayed more than ten times longer than in the previous year. Even before the tournament began, many accommodations were already fully booked, including hotels, vacation apartments, and Airbnb listings.

In St. Gallen, match days led to exceptionally high occupancy rates in the city, ranging from 95% to 100%. Lucerne, which has been able to revitalize its image, saw a 2% increase in overnight stays compared to the same month last year. In Sion and Valais, the results are also very positive. In Bern, the average hotel occupancy rate reached 83%, while Basel expects a 5-10% increase in hotel overnight stays in July compared to last year.

Zurich, which hosted the English and German national teams that qualified for the semi-finals (and the final for England), also enjoyed excellent occupancy rates. Another significant indicator is that Geneva recorded a 10% increase in the distribution of Unireso cards (public transport tickets) for the period from July 1 to 23, 2025, compared to 2024, not including the benefits for the restaurant industry and retail trade.

Contributing to this media success were, among others, eight players from the national team who are active on social media, the President of the Swiss Confederation with a welcome message, partner transport companies, and 50 European personalities and content creators who are passionate about soccer.

On Instagram, the post by the tournament's star player, Aitana Bonamtí, generated more than 274,000 likes. After Spain's defeat to England in the final, the Spanish player said: “It's still hard to take in, but all we can do now is accept it (…) Thank you to all the fans, to Switzerland and to @weuro2025 for organizing such a wonderful tournament” (translated from Spanish to English, ed.)

This very positive outcome positions Switzerland as a host of choice for future major international sporting events. According to Switzerland Tourism, this marks a turning point, not only strengthening the country's reputation abroad but also demonstrating the tourism potential of sporting events.