Green winter turns Swiss ski resorts into a two-class society. The skies in eastern Switzerland, in the Vaud and Jura ski areas, and even in parts of the Bernese Oberland, are getting thinner. In the mountainous winter castles of Graubünden and Valais, morale is high thanks to the snow guarantee. “We are taking advantage of the current situation and have had a record winter since the beginning of December,” says Daniel Luggen (51), Tourism Manager, Zermatt VS.
The green winter drives guests who plan a ski holiday at mid-altitudes to high mountain destinations such as Zermatt. “We have received some rebooking requests, including from Austria,” says Nicolas Burgener (35), Managing Director of Alpine Hotel Perren. A glance at the books also makes the hotelier feel positive: “The booking status for January looks great too.”
Fully booked hotels and full tracks
Looking at the five-year average, the mountain railroads in Valais may cheer the loudest ever: plus five percent in initial entries and nine percent in sales. Snow conditions in many areas are good to very good and almost all ski slopes are open. The weather also played out over the holidays.
Safes are also knocking at Aletsch Arena VS. “We counted three percent more entries in the Christmas business than last year, and the hotels were almost completely full,” media spokeswoman Monika König said. As Saas Valley Head of Tourism Marketing and Communications Mattia Storni (40) confirms, there is more activity in Saas-Fee VS and on the ski slopes in Saas Valley than was already strong last season. “The occupancy rate of the hotel and non-hotel sectors was also excellent.”
Even small destinations benefit
In addition to large destinations, smaller ones also benefited, provided they had well-developed snowmaking facilities such as Bellwald VS. “People are amazed at how good the slopes are. We have more first-time visitors than last winter, and we can also welcome more day-trippers,” says Sportbahnen Director David Wyssen (40).
There’s a mountain winter feel in Graubünden, too. Although mountain railroads had to accept a five-year average of seven percent decline in initial entries, sales rose six percent. As with Valais, this is partly due to price increases. However, dynamic price patterns had a greater impact. Since the guests bought their ski tickets in a much shorter time, they had to give up the discounts.
According to media spokesman Stefan Reichmuth, the Arosa Lenzerheide GR ski area is happy with sales, as in previous years: “We did not expect this beforehand.” Nice weather and many short-term ticket purchases contributed to this. Zurich, Aarau and St. What was lacking in Gallen was the winter air that many guests from this region came with.
Grisons hotels with a big plus
st. The high alpine ski area in Moritz GR is slightly above the five-year average in terms of first entries. Also, those responsible for Samnaun GR and Scuol GR are satisfied with the number of guests. Media spokesman Roger Kreienbühl said: “The guarantee of snow in our ski areas has certainly contributed to the decision of some guests to visit our resort on a short notice.”
For the hotel industry in Graubünden, the numbers look even more rosy. “In December we increased the number of overnight stays by five percent and increased sales even further,” says Ernst “Aschi” Wyrsch (61), President of Hotelleriesuisse Graubünden. Guests had to dig deeper into their pockets due to their short-term booking behavior at peak times. This short-term nature is causing stomach ache as Wyrsch looks into the coming weeks. “With mild temperatures on the plains, winter air can disappear more quickly than in other years.”