Mass cancellations at Swiss hotels due to Omicron variant

BERNE - Swiss hoteliers voiced fears for the crucial winter season on Tuesday following a wave of booking cancellations linked to the Omicron variant.

The HotellerieSuisse industry body said the quarantine restrictions imposed on tourists from countries where the new Covid-19 variant of concern has been detected - particularly visitors from Britain - had led to reservations being scrapped.

"In recent days, the accommodation sector has witnessed a collapse in bookings due to the deteriorating virus situation," the federation said, stressing the importance of the winter season for the Alpine nation and its hotel sector.

Swiss hotels make a big chunk of their annual turnover from foreigners visiting for the ski season.

And as Christmas approaches, hoteliers have been confronted with "massive cancellations of corporate events and Christmas parties" in recent days said HotellerieSuisse.

The federation urged politicians not to go for lockdowns and instead maintain support for a sector that has been "hammered" since the start of the pandemic.

It called for uniform measures across the country rather than a patchwork of different decisions by the regional authorities.

The Swiss government tightened travel restrictions over the weekend. As of noon on Tuesday, visitors from 23 countries must go into quarantine on arrival into Switzerland.

Switzerland is battling a fifth wave of the pandemic, with the numbers of new Covid-19 cases seven times higher than in mid-October.

The landlocked European nation, population 8.6 million, recorded its one millionth Covid-19 case on Monday.

And Swiss voters turned out in force in Sunday's referendum to back the law upholding the country's Covid-19 pass, allowing vaccinated or recovered people entry into restaurants and other indoor spaces.