“Places below 1600 meters must be kept away from ski tourism”

White Christmas? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that? It is much too hot and rainy in many places. In addition, temperatures were too high all year round. We complain about hot summers. Water must be flown to the alpine meadows. And in the cold season there is often not enough snow. Especially at lower altitudes, the winter sports resorts feel this. You should react now, says expert Thomas Egger (55). The director of the Swiss Association for Mountain Regions (SAB) calls on tourist destinations to reorient themselves.

Blick: Mr. Egger, where can we reach you now?
Thomas Egger: I am in Valais, in Visp to be precise. And before you ask: no, there is no snow and it is raining hard.

Actually, everything should be white for Christmas, right?
Exactly, in our imagination Wallis would be covered in deep snow. But unfortunately we have to say goodbye to such ideas. We dream of winters like the old days, but we have to face reality: we have just experienced the warmest year since measurements began. Such relationships are the new normal. Snow is no longer guaranteed below 1600 meters.

Bad for winter tourism.
Not only that, many areas are affected, including agriculture. But tourist resorts at lower and mid-altitudes in particular need to think about how to escape the one-sided focus on ski tourism. The mountain railways in these destinations often face major financial challenges. The municipality then usually intervenes with money, which does not save the railways in the long term. This money could be better spent.

How is that possible?
Fully develop high-altitude ski areas – if necessary with certain concessions for landscape and nature conservation – and create new offerings with other target groups in the lower and middle mountains. Overall, everyone would benefit.

You don’t make friends with that in the lowlands. But what should the low-lying places do?
Regional agreements have proven their worth. A good example are the Vaud Alps, with stations such as Chateau-d’Oex, Leysin and Rougemont. Here Vaud said we support you, but you have to agree on who does what. Chateau-d’Oex has established itself as a mecca for hot air ballooning, the following rely on cross-country skiing and those higher up do downhill skiing. Everyone benefits from such a distribution. But if you do nothing, you lose.

It’s so easy to say. Impressive mountains and idyllic places like Zermatt can be found in Valais, but down in the valley… no one wants to go on holiday there.
The valley is an ideal starting point for tourism all year round. You mentioned Zermatt. Actually winter hardy. There they wanted to hold World Cup competitions in late October and early November. But they had to be canceled due to lack of snow. It’s not so much about whether we want change or not. We simply have no choice but to adapt.

But what might this adjustment look like?
Our tourist resorts are beautiful all year round. We should take advantage of that. Lenzerheide is leading the way. Spring and autumn are enhanced in the village of Graubünden. At the end of autumn, Lenzerheide transitions seamlessly from cycle tourism to snow tourism. The hotels are focused on four seasons.

The hotels benefit from not only having guests in summer and winter.
Not only! This also offers new opportunities on the labor market. Those who can offer employees year-round contracts are in a better position to compete for skilled labor than purely seasonal companies. But for that, the hotels and the railways have to work together. It should no longer happen that we have the most beautiful mountain weather in October, but many hotels are closed and railways are at a standstill.

Apparently the deal isn’t worth it.
Or was it just not worth it in the past? Climate change is not only causing much hotter summers. The fall season is much longer now. Wouldn’t our guests rather enjoy the beautiful autumn hiking weather in the mountains than sit in the fog?

It’s not always foggy in winter and now everyone has snow cannons.
Is that the only solution? First, it must be cold for artificial snow. Secondly, the energy consumption of the snow cannons is high and thirdly, water is also increasingly becoming a limiting factor in Switzerland’s moated castle. But there must be enough water for everyone: as drinking water, for agriculture, for generating energy, but also for tourism.

Now open a new barrel.
Global warming affects us all. When we talk about future strategies, we should also think about multifunctional water reservoirs. Reservoirs are important for generating electricity. But we also have to irrigate the meadows in summer, operate snow cannons in winter, we need fire extinguishing water reserves – and drinking and drinking water all year round. The glacial lakes that form as a result of the retreat of our glaciers can also play an important role here.

The federal government should take action here.
The federal government shifted the problem to the cantons in response to an action by the Central Council of States, Beat Rieder. Bern makes it a bit easy for himself here, of course. But it is also the case that municipalities and cantons themselves are taking action and may have to take a courageous decision.

For example?
The Stockhorn Bahn has stopped alpine ski tourism. They specialize in guests who come for snowshoeing and winter hiking. That works. Or take Monte Tamaro in Tessin: in 2003 the decision was made there to abandon winter tourism completely. For this you have fully invested in the summer. They focus on offers such as hiking and summer tobogganing. Meanwhile, during the course of the year, a third more turnover is generated than before.

Some winter sports resorts will remain behind.
Probably yes – but especially those who don’t move. There is a niche for everyone. You just have to be willing to look for it – and fast. In tourism, it has always been the case that those who start with a good offer tap into enormous market potential. Whoever builds the thousandth suspension bridge no longer attracts new guests. Germany and Austria have successfully focused on wellness, while Switzerland has been looking on for an extremely long time. But now we need new ideas. The “Beyond Snow” project is now starting to get something new going.

What is this project?
New development opportunities must be found for areas concerned about their future. It involves 13 partners from all over the Alps. The destination Sattel-Hochstuckli in Central Switzerland is involved with us. Together with the people on site, it is necessary to find out where the journey is going, as in a laboratory. The locals know their area best. You know what’s appropriate.

What could that be?
For example, I see huge potential in health tourism. The population is getting older. She is becoming more health conscious. And today’s seniors are more active and often wealthier. We are talking about silver tourism, ie offers for senior tourists. This also offers opportunities to make even better use of the culinary offer of each region. Or see how many Asian tourists come back to us. They want to see the mountains and touch snow once in their life, but not to ski. If the local players agree on which offer they want to focus on, a lot is possible.

Hearing you speak, you might think that global warming is the great savior that is reshaping our tourism.
It is true that in a crisis there is also an opportunity. We have seen that the Swiss spent more and more holidays with us during Corona. Suddenly the German-speaking Swiss were back in Ticino for the first time, the townspeople in the mountains and the French-speaking Swiss in Appenzellerland. We must use this momentum now. There was also a boom in vacation rentals. The holiday home owners in particular are particularly exciting.

How’s that?
The second house brings good ideas. They are often the most loyal guests and appreciate the beauty of their adopted country. They are also willing to volunteer or make a financial contribution. I advocate taking everyone along if possible, but above all: we have to get to work now.