Financial Year 2025

Our mission is to provide people with unforgettable travel experiences. We operate a network of youth hostels in all parts of Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. In addition, our membership of Hostelling International gives us access to youth hostels all around the world. Our vision of creating a world in which every person can experience encounters and joint activities in a spirit of solidarity, responsibility and joie de vivre is our daily motivation and is what drives us.

In the 2025 financial year, we had 823,949 overnight stays. This was 1.3% up on the prior year (813,412). The share of Swiss guests fell to 67.4% (prior year 70.8%). The most important international markets of origin include Germany, followed by the USA, France, United Kingdom, South Korea and China. Growth in guests from Germany was particularly pronounced, with an increase of 17.8%.

School overnight stays increased from 143,484 in 2024 to 152,138, an increase of 6.0% over the prior year. Their share of total overnight stays increased from 17.6% in the prior year to 18.5% in 2025. School camps, summer camps and snow sports weeks have been part of Switzerland’s educational and youth culture for generations. The Swiss Youth Hostels support the preservation and operation of these camps and extracurricular learning with special offers for schools. In addition, teaching materials and accompanying material for stays are provided both in the area of sustainability and now also in the area of resilience. In 2025, CHF 19,000 from the fund for social projects was used. The content was prepared together with kiknet.ch (KIK AG).

In 2025, the network of the Swiss Youth Hostels consisted of 43 own and 8 partner hostels. It is constantly being renewed and developed in collaboration with the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism. For example, the new youth hostel in Martigny opened at the end of February 2025, the new Geneva Youth Hostel will open on 16 July 2026, while the opening of the Youth Hostel in Savognin is scheduled to open in winter 2026/2027 and the Neuchâtel Youth Hostel will follow in spring 2027. Cooperation with the public sector has a long tradition for the Swiss Youth Hostels and the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism. We would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for the trust and enormous support. We are aware of our responsibility and approach it with discretion and a strong sense of commitment.

After more than 30 years at Schaffhauserstrasse 14 in Zurich, the Swiss Youth Hostels moved into the new headquarters at Josefstrasse 216 on 17 December 2025. All employees now work in a common area with flexible workstations and, to a great extent, on a paperless basis. The modern, inspiring atmosphere of the premises is already having a positive effect on collaboration.

On 28 December 2025, we had to say goodbye to our honorary member Jack Kern, who passed away in his 92nd year. In the section Review + Outlook, we pay tribute to his prolific work on behalf of the Swiss Youth Hostels and the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism.