Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Summertime’s in bloom, but winter might be snowless in some parts of Switzerland.
Recent figures by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) suggest that the Swiss hotel industry will record a formidable summer thanks to international tourists. But a 70-year-old ski resort has just announced the hard decision to close down due to the lack of snow.
But first, let’s get you up-to-date with today’s news stories.
In the news: first Swiss to get compensation after Dieselgate scandal, water rescue dogs and Yves Rocher closing all branches in Switzerland.
- For the first time in Switzerland, a Volkswagen customer won an appeal court case against car dealer AMAG, obtaining the cancellation of the sale agreement and a compensation of CHF18,000 ($20,572) – plus estimated court and legal costs.
- Some water rescue dogs trained in Italy are being deployed in Lugano, southern Switzerland, to prevent swimming accidents. The pilot project is being implemented during the weekends in July and August.
- The French cosmetic company Yves Rocher is to close all storefronts in German-speaking countries, including Switzerland, due to economic challenges. This will affect a total of around 350 jobs.
Hotel industry in Switzerland is booming, but not thanks to locals.
If you’re currently living abroad, chances are that you’ve visited Switzerland this summer. At least this is what the latest figures by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO)External link about the Swiss hotel industry have shown.
Today a report by Swiss public radio RTSExternal link has revealed that Swiss hotels have recorded an increase of 13.8% in overnight stays in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2022.
So far, the hotel industry in the Alpine country has recorded 19.5 million overnight stays. While the figures for domestic visitors remained virtually stagnant, foreign demand soared by 33%.
According to the FSO, tourists from Europe accounted for the majority of international visits, generating 5.7 million overnight stays: guests came mainly from the UK, Italy, France and Germany.
But the biggest growth was recorded from Asia, where the demand doubled, reaching a 102.7% increase. Overnight stays generated by guests from China quadrupled, those from South Korea more than tripled, while those from India more than doubled. The number of travellers from the United States increased by 52.7% and that from the African continent by 24%.
On the other hand, the statistics reveal that Swiss hotels suffered a 2.9% drop in overnight stays by local customers.
Hot summers and snowless winters: climate change threatens Swiss winter tourism.
If summer business is going well in Switzerland, winter tourism isn’t looking as promising in some areas. A small ski resort in the town of Schwyz, in central Switzerland, has announced its decision to close down owing to the lack of snow, Swiss public television SRFExternal link reported today.
A recent Swiss study has revealed that the current temperatures have exceeded the peaks registered during the Middle Ages, and the Sattel-Hochstuckli ski area is yet another victim of global warming. The resort, which is located at 1,600 metres above sea level, has been struggling with a serious lack of snow in recent years and is now too warm even for snow cannons.
The announcement of the imminent closure has caused outrage and dismay among the local community and an interest group was formed to have the decision reversed. A meeting of 500 shareholders met on Wednesday, but the president of the board of directors said that: “Our financial possibilities are exhausted, at the end of the season we had to go begging to the bank. We would not survive a second winter like this one.”
The resort is now developing a new strategy to concentrate its winter tourism on beginners, while experienced skiers will have to go somewhere else. This is another hard blow for the 70-year-old resort where ski stars like Fabienne Suter and Nadja Styger used to train.
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