Ticino tries to avoid isolation after tunnel fire

Ticino could be in trouble if the Gotthard tunnel stays closed until Easter Keystone Archive

The closure of the Gotthard tunnel following last month's fire has caused fears of economic isolation in Ticino.

The region depends on the tunnel to export its produce to the north, and to bring in necessary goods that are not produced locally.

Furthermore 75 per cent of tourists to Ticino come from German speaking Switzerland or from Germany; and their journey south to the lakes and palm trees of Ticino normally takes them through the Gotthard tunnel.

Professor Rico Maggi, director of Ticino’s Institute of Economic Research, said the local population began to worry as soon as the tunnel was closed.

“There was huge concern,” Maggi told swissinfo, “Everybody said ‘Oh no, now we are really isolated, really cut off’. People are especially worried about the effect on tourism.”

Cost to the economy

Maggi has analysed the possible cost to Ticino’s economy of the closure of the tunnel.

“It’s not so easy to quantify,” he said, “but after looking at the probable effect on tourism and local industry, I came up with a figure of SFr150 million minimum, over a six month period.”

Bad though this sounds, Maggi points out that it compares favorably with the cost to the Italian economy of the closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel, following the disastrous fire there in 1999.

“The Italians estimate it could cost them up to one billion,” said Maggi. “And the closure of the Gotthard will simply add to that; in fact northern Italy will probably suffer more than Ticino.”

Low season

At Ticino’s cantonal tourist office, marketing manager Elisabetta de Ferrari is studying the effects of the Gotthard closure on visitor numbers.

One crumb of comfort for Ticino’s tourist industry lies in the fact that the closure of the Gotthard has occurred during the low season.

“Only 10 per cent of our visitors come at this time of year,” Ferrarri told swissinfo, “so in that sense you could say we have been lucky.”

Initial reports from local hoteliers have also been reassuring. “So far they say their bookings are normal for the Christmas period,” said Ferrarri, “but if the tunnel stays closed until Easter, when our high season starts, then we will be in trouble.”

New travel options

In an attempt to reassure potential visitors that Ticino is still an accessible resort, the tourist board is launching a promotional campaign offering new ways of traveling south.

“We have had discussions with Swiss Federal Railways and with Crossair,” said de Ferrarri, “and we will be offering new packages such as rail and drive and fly and drive.”

“We want to show future guests that Ticino is still a nice quiet place, with beautiful scenery,” de Ferrarri continued. “And we want them to know that our region remains easily accessible.”

Fears of long term damage

But despite the hard work being done at the tourist office, de Ferrarri remains concerned that the fire in the Gotthard could have far reaching consequences for Ticino.

“It’s a question of image,” she explained. “Whatever we do, people will associate the Ticino with the Gotthard, and the Gotthard with that fire, for some time to come.”

De Ferrarri’s concerns are shared by Rico Maggi, who believes the long term damage to Ticino’s economy could be worse than the short term losses.

“For me the greatest worry is how businesses here, and potential investors in this region, react in the long term,” said Maggi.

“If they come to regard Ticino as somewhat unreliable, or inaccessible, it will cause a shrinkage in the economy.”

Long term solutions

Perhaps surprisingly, Maggi says Ticino is not looking for financial support to help get through the difficult months of the Gotthard’s closure.

Instead, Maggi and many other people in Ticino now hope that the disastrous fire in the Gotthard will provide fresh impetus for a solution to their region’s traffic problem.

“80 per cent of the trucks which go through the Gotthard go straight through Ticino,” points out Maggi. “They don’t stop to deliver anything.”

“For ages we have been talking about the switch from road to rail, but the problem has not been addressed at the European level.”

“The very best thing for Ticino’s future, and indeed for northern Italy’s,” he continued, “would be a real commitment to getting freight onto the railways.”

by Imogen Foulkes