Lucerne tops money-making alpine destination ranking

Swiss resorts like Lucerne do really well in the summer season Keystone

The Swiss city of Lucerne nabbed first place in a ranking of alpine destinations based on the ability to lure tourists and make money. A good summer season performance helped Lucerne and Interlaken break into the top 15 dominated by Austrian alpine hotspots. 

BAK Basel, an economic consultancy based in the Swiss city of Basel, did the ranking. It used three indicators to determine the attractiveness of an alpine resort: number of overnight hotel stays, hotel occupancy rates, and profitability of hotel rooms. Lucerne’s top spot was largely due to its impressive performance in summer. Interlaken was the only other Swiss destination to make it into the top 15, claiming the overall 12^th spot. The central Swiss resort of Weggis was the biggest improver, jumping from 102^nd place in 2014 to 39^th in 2015. 

Lucerne’s strategic position near the Four Lakes region and Interlaken’s winning offering of lake and mountain vistas helped them place first and second, respectively, in terms of summer season financial performance. Weggis managed sixth place in the summer rankings, thanks to a strong increase in overnight stays and doubling of the number of visitors from Asia. 

The survey assessed 149 Alpine tourist destinations in five countries: 72 in Austria, 38 in Switzerland, 27 in Italy, 7 in France, and 5 Germany. The survey notes that Europe’s Alpine regions extend to Liechtenstein and Slovenia, but the survey does not extend to destinations in those countries. 

Twenty-five of the Swiss destinations dropped in the rankings because of a strong Swiss franc compared to the euro. BAK Basel estimates that the impact of the strong franc will run through 2016, with tourist numbers in Swiss destinations decreasing by 2%.