The accommodation and food services sector increased by 3.5%, while increased travel helped to push up the transport and communication sector by 0.4%.
ADVERTISEMENTSwitzerland's GDP grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, keeping in step with the country's below-average growth from the previous quarter.
The Swiss Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday that the services sector was one of the main growth drivers, thanks to recovering tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the accommodation and food services sector increased by 3.5%, while increased travel helped to push up the transport and communication sector by 0.4%.
Other services noting a small uptick were business-related services (0.3%), health and social care (1.4%) and financial services (1%), according to the statistical office.
On the flip side, it said that value added in manufacturing dipped by 0.1%, driven by the chemical and pharmaceutical industry falling into negative territory (-2.3%) on the back of declining exports.
Switzerland's overall GDP growth in 2023 looks like it will stand at 1.3% when adjusted for seasonal and sporting events, according to the statistical office's provisional results. This is down from 2.5% in 2022
"The slowdown in growth is related to the process of normalisation following the COVID-19 crisis," the office said. "The challenging international environment also weighed on economic development."
Not adjusted for sporting events, GDP grew 0.8% in 2023, after 2.7% in the previous year, according to the statistical agency.
The results fall in line with earlier predictions that Switzerland will see slower-than-expected growth for 2024 too, as a knock-on effect of the eurozone's 'sluggish momentum'.
