Mountain hut stays saw rise in popularity in 2019
Cabins operated by the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) had the second-best year in their history in 2019, with the hot summer especially sending people in search of fresher air in the mountains.
The 355,268 overnight stays recorded in the 153 mountain cabins of the SAC amounted to a 3.6% increase on 2018, the second-best year in their 150-year history.
Some four-fifths of the visitors were recorded between May and October, amounting to the best summer season ever. Two long heatwaves, at the end of June and the end of July, prompted residents from the valleys to seek fresher air at altitude, the SAC said.
Combined with money spend from visitors during the day, the overnight stays brought a total of CHF32.5 million ($34.03 million) for the huts.
The most visited of the 153 cabins operated by the Alpine organisation was the Lämmerenhütte in the Bernese Oberland, with 7,810 overnight stays.
The booming huts came on the back of a record overall year for Swiss hotels, which saw 39.6 million overnight stays across the country last year. Both domestic and foreign tourist numbers went up.
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