Officer-level military staff largely spend the night in hotels rather than barracks, which leads to significant costs, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reports.
Some 121,000 such hotel stays were made by officers last year, the paper wrote on Sunday. The cost was CHF8.5 million ($9.74 million), about 40% of the total accommodation costs of the troops.
In 2023, the figure is set to increase by CHF3 million due to a boost of the army’s daily rate for accommodation – from CHF70 to CHF100 for officers and senior non-commissioned officers.
According to the NZZ am Sonntag, the army is thus an important driver of local tourism, accounting for more overnight stays than Japanese tourists.
The hotel association Hotelleriesuisse even advises its members on how to get the most out of army guests, the paper writes.