Winter tourism figures better than feared

High altitude resorts had a good season Keystone

The winter tourism season in Switzerland has not been as disappointing as had been forecast, despite the warmest temperatures on record.

Hoteliers have been reporting good results, while turnover of Swiss ski-lift operators dropped by just five per cent.

Ski resorts above 1,800 metres, which nearly always had a good snow cover, fared reasonably well but low-lying resorts suffered as there was no snow.

“The lack of snow has had far less drastic effects than one could have imagined,” commented Mila Trombitas from the Swiss Tourism Federation.

The Swiss were more wary of the lack of snow than foreign tourists, with a fall in their numbers heading for the slopes.

In February, the number of foreign tourists increased by five per cent compared with the same month the previous year. The strong euro had positive effects on tourism, Trombitas said.

Season over

The winter season comes to an end on Sunday when the resorts at Corvatsch in canton Graubünden, and Glacier 3000 and Les Diablerets in canton Vaud, close their facilities.

Les Diablerets tripled its turnover during the past season, the resort’s marketing director Bernhard Tschannen noted.

The use of snow cannons and a number of special events helped boost business, Tschannen commented.

Engstligenalp in the Bernese Oberland also reported good results with an increase of 70 per cent in sales by the end of March.

The good snow cover at high-altitude resorts helped ski-lift operators. After visitor numbers dropped by between 15 and 25 per cent in January, they almost doubled in March and the Easter period compared with Christmas/New Year holiday in, for example, Davos and Klosters.

Investment

Plans are now on hand for stronger investment in snow cannons to ensure a blanket cover in the 2007/2008 season.

“High altitude and technology are two success factors,” commented Felix Maurhofer, a spokesman for the Ski Lifts’ Association.

Maurhofer said investment in the sector was expected to increase by more than 30 per cent next season, up to SFr30 million ($24.7 million) from SFr20 million last season.

He added that smaller and low-lying resorts bore the brunt of the mild winter. In many cases, they could operate for only a few days.

However, he said unless there were many similar mild winters, the resorts would not suffer economic hardship because costs were relatively low.

Maurhofer pointed out that smaller ski lifts received financial and technical help from larger operators. One example is in canton Bern where the Schilthorn lifts support those in the Gantrisch area on safety matters.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Nearly 650 Swiss companies, which together operate 2,400 lifts, are key economic factors for many mountain tourism regions.

The lifts carry an estimated 310 million passengers annually.

The companies, which employ 11,000 people, have an annual combined turnover of around SFr840 million ($687 million), of which around 25% is invested in maintenance or the purchase of new infrastructure.

Snow cannons

Around 20% of pistes are artificially prepared in Switzerland, double what it was five years ago and four times the figure of ten years ago.

According to experts, the figure will double again in the next five years.

The Swiss Ski Lifts’ Association believes that an investment of around SFr800 million will be needed.

Compared with other alpine states, the use of snow canons in Switzerland is still relatively limited. Austria uses snow cannons on half its pistes, France on two-thirds and four out of five in Italy are given an artificial snow covering.