WEF security costs spiral as terror risks increase

Both army and police forces contribute to the heavy security presence at WEF Keystone

The increased threat of terrorist attacks has inflated policing costs to CHF9 million ($8.9 million) at the World Economic Forum’s flagship event in Davos. That’s about CHF1 million above budget, according to canton Graubünden police, who organise security for the Forum. 

This year, some 3,000 delegates will attend the event, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. The recent attack on Berlin’s Christmas market has further highlighted the threat from terrorists, the canton’s police chief Walter Schlegel said at a press conference on Monday – the day before the event kicks off in earnest. 

Some 100 VIPs, including heads of state and royalty, will arrive in Davos with special protection measures, Schlegel said. Additional police have been recruited from other Swiss cantons and Liechtenstein, but Schlegel would not reveal how many total officers will be on duty this week. 

The army will provide 4,736 personnel for the week-long event, said General Jean-Marc Halter, who is in charge of military security for WEF. The army and air force are mostly responsible for securing air space and escorting VIPs to Davos, where they have an air base. 

The CHF28 million annual cost of military security is met by the defence ministry, which has set a ceiling on troop numbers of 5,000. This figure has remained constant over the last few years as policing costs have inflated.

Policing costs are splitExternal link between canton Graubünden (CHF2 million), the town of Davos (CHF900,000), neighbouring Klosters (CHF100,000), the Swiss confederation (CHF3 million) and WEF (CHF2 million). The confederation has pledged an extra CHF750,000 for the three WEF meetings between 2016-2018 if the CHF8 million budget is exceeded. 

In addition, the Swiss state will also cover 80% of extra costs of protecting VIPs should there be a significant incident (such as a terror attack or assassination attempt). 

But these costs are paid back with interest for Switzerland. The non-profit WEF foundation reported a CHF228 million turnover between July 2015 and June 2016, and a surplus of CHF1.2 million. 

A study by the University of St Gallen (commissioned by WEF) estimated that the annual Forum generated CHF50 million for Davos and the surrounding area, plus another CHF79 million for the rest of Switzerland (primarily in tourism money).