German visitors slump after banking law changes

Tourist figures from the Federal Statistics Office show the number of visitors from Germany slumped by a third in 2018 and never recovered.

Many are wondering why?

One theory is the end of banking secrecy. 

One former German tax inspector told the ‘Lucerner Zeitung’ that it was common many Germans would visit their financial adviser in Switzerland and check on their undeclared accounts – and then stay for a few days. 

But under an agreement with the OECD, banking secrecy for tax matters ended in 2018 and banks do swap account information with other countries. 

More from Bitesize News

  • Speed limit decrease in parts of Lausanne

    Several new streets in central Lausanne will drop to 30 kilometres per hour from 12 October, day and night, according to a letter the city has sent to affected residents

  • Population increase forecast for Vaud

    The population of canton Vaud will pass one million residents by 2046, according to new demographic projections released Friday

  • UBS share price increases

    UBS shares jumped more than 3% on the Swiss exchange on Friday after a US news outlet reported the bank is weighing a merger with a foreign rival and a move of its head office

  • Warmer than average end to the month

    Switzerland is heading into a summery final week of September, with temperatures forecast to climb into the late-20s this week

  • New CERN collider still under consideration

    Cross-border French communes near Geneva have laid down their conditions for Cern's proposed 90.7-kilometre particle collider, warning they will not sign off without guarantees

  • Citizenship remains one of the hardest on continent

    The Council of States has rejected a popular initiative that would have let foreigners apply for citizenship after just five years, closing the parliamentary door on the biggest attempt in years to loosen one of Europe's strictest naturalisation regimes

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play