![The four-metre-long painting "Sonntag der Bergbauern" [Sunday of the Mountain Farmers, 1923-24/26] had to be removed by a crane from the German Chancellery in Berlin for the exhibition in Bern.](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2025/12/01_Pressebild_KirchnerxKirchner.jpg?crop=1165px,0px,1670px,1670px&w=480&ver=1ea8acae)
The easy way to enjoy Gstaad
Gstaad-Saanenland has become the first tourist region in the Swiss Alps to offer an all-inclusive customer card valid for public transport, guided tours and adventure sports. The "easy access" system is aimed at making vacations easier.
“We want our guests to enjoy themselves while they are here instead of having to waste precious time organising each day,” says Roger Seifritz, director of Gstaad-Saanenland tourism.
The idea is simple. Guests spending at least two nights and three days in the region are told about the offer while checking in at their hotel. Purchasing the card eliminates the hassle of having to buy train or cable car tickets, or wondering whether it’s worth changing more travellers’ cheques to pay for a river-rafting trip.
Package holidays have long been a common feature at Swiss resorts in winter, and Gstaad wants to find out if a similar system can attract more tourists in the other seasons.
“It’s much more complicated in summer,” Seifritz explains. “In winter, there is only skiing and snowboarding, but in summer, you have people who want to go hiking, mountain biking, or take part in a cultural activity.”
The standard version of the card, called “relax”, costs SFr49 ($28) and is valid on public transport and cable cars, for guided tours, and entrance to museums and swimming pools.
Includes adventure sports
The “active” version costs twice as much, but can also be used at the buyer’s discretion for a number of adventure sports including river-rafting, introductory rock climbing courses, and mountain biking tours led by former Swiss champions.
The low cost of the card is surprising in a resort known for attracting the jet set. “Gstaad is a very classy resort but only 20 per cent of our guests belong to that market segment,” Seifritz says. “The rest are normal people. We are putting a product on the market for the average tourist.”
And the average tourist, according to Seifritz, has become more demanding. The general trend in the tourist industry has been towards shorter but more frequent vacations, packed full of activities.
It’s no coincidence that the card’s three-day validity equals the average length of stay in Gstaad.
by Dale Bechtel
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.