The Swiss take the very latest gadgets with them on holiday: 71% travel with internet-enabled smartphones, 38% take laptops, and 23% put a tablet computer in their luggage. Interestingly, more than a quarter of over-60s communicate via tablet.
Swiss people love communicating when on holiday. 93% of those surveyed said they kept in contact with people at home. 71% pack smartphones in their luggage. Nearly a quarter travel with a tablet computer. Two-thirds use social media platforms to communicate. Keeping up with the news is important for the Swiss on holiday. 90% of them keep up with media reporting of the latest events. Online newspapers are the most important channel for this. Meanwhile, almost half the Swiss people who responded say they devote some time to work while on holiday. More than half don’t like this, however. 91% of those surveyed believe it’s important to be able to get hold of their tour operator when on holiday. All of this and more is detailed in the 2014 Kuoni Switzerland holiday report.
State-of-the-Art gadgets come too
93% of those surveyed keep in contact with home when they are on holiday. 15% of them do so every day, with women more communicative than men. Messaging services (e.g. WhatsApp) are by far the most popular method. 68% of holidaymakers use them, followed by e-mail at 49%. Social media, at 29%, is gaining ground fast. Surprisingly, 39% of Swiss holidaymakers still write traditional postcards. The Ticinese are the most communicative, while people from Basel, French-speaking Switzerland and Eastern Switzerland are less forthcoming.
The Swiss take the very latest gadgets with them on holiday: 71% travel with internet-enabled smartphones, 38% take laptops, and 23% put a tablet computer in their luggage. Interestingly, more than a quarter of over-60s communicate via tablet.
Social media increasingly important on holiday
Social media channels are important to holidaymakers. Two-thirds of Swiss people on holiday use them; almost a third do so every day, rising to 42% among 18-29 year-old Swiss holidaymakers. Ticinese, French-speaking Swiss and people from Basel are most likely to be on social media at least once a day, those from Cantons Aargau/ Solothurn less so. Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform with 88%, followed by YouTube (25%). Twitter reaches 11%. 38% of Swiss people upload holiday pictures onto social media platforms.
The Swiss go onlne for news
Swiss people consume a lot of news when on holiday. 60% check what’s going on in the world every two or three days. The older the holidaymaker, the more news they consume. People from Ticino, Zurich, Basel and French-speaking Switzerland are the most likely to read the news every day. Online newspapers are the most popular source (57%), followed by TV (50%), social media (28%), printed newspapers (25%) and news apps (24%).
The Swiss continues working for their bosses even on holiday
Almost half of those asked carry out work tasks while on holiday. Twice as many men do this as women. Those from Zurich, French-speaking Switzerland, Central Switzerland and Basel work the most. Around three-quarters of all those surveyed write and read work e-mails, while 41% speak on the phone for work purposes. More than a quarter work while on holiday because their boss wants them to. 56% of them do so because of unexpected emergencies at work. However, 51% of Swiss people are annoyed by the idea of working while on holiday. Women are more likely to be annoyed than men, and German-speaking Swiss more than French-speaking.
Communication more harmonious with holiday companions
Three-quarters of the survey sample go on holiday with their spouse or partner, 38% with friends, 35% with their own children. 61% find that communications with their companions is more harmonious and good-tempered while on holiday. The most important decisions taken on holiday relate to work, finances and the relationship/partnership.
Availability of Tour Operator is important
91% think that being able to contact their tour operator is important. People from Ticino, Zurich, and Central Switzerland contact their holiday rep most often, and women do so more than men. 44% do this because of problems with the holiday they have booked, 37% to organize trips, and 25% to get expert tips.
Fourth edition of the Kuoni Holiday Report
In November 2013, Kuoni Switzerland commissioned a representative online survey in German, French and Italian of 1,290 people between the ages of 18 and 65 from all over Switzerland. The study was carried out for Kuoni Switzerland by the independent market research company Marketagent.com. This is the fourth edition of the Swiss Kuoni Holiday report, following similar exercises in 2010, 2011 and 2013. The Holiday Report appears in Swiss languages German and French.
Kuoni Ferienreport 2014 (in German)
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
