Diableret, canton Vaud, still drawing skiers
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – All eyes have been on Davos this week for the World Economic Forum (WEF), which also means journalists covering it have had a chance to ski there. And they says that what they’ve seen confirms what they suspected: the strong Swiss franc is keeping foreign tourists away. The problem is, they have the story wrong.
The franc has appreciated 9 percent against the dollar in the past 12 months and 18 percent against the euro. Mountain visitors account for 47 percent of Swiss overnight stays, so if resorts are in a slump, Swiss tourism will be hurting.
But they have the story wrong
Not just an uphill battle for resorts, despite the franc's strength (photo: Les Mosses, juncture between Vaud and Bernese Alps)
There are two problems with this: one is that Davos is far from representative of Swiss ski resorts, and the other is that while shop and hotelkeepers grumble everywhere that business is down, statistics show that the situation is far from dire.
Skiers are still coming to Switzerland, and in substantial numbers, and this despite a strong franc and a snow base that is adequate if not as deep as many skiers would like, especially in parts of canton Valais.
2011 decrease of 2-3 percent expected
Véronique Kanel at the Swiss national tourism office in Zurich puts the currency problem in perspective. “We are concerned that the impact of the strong Swiss franc will be increasingly felt by the tourism industry over the coming months. Switzerland Tourism believes that a decrease of 3-5 percent in overnights for 2011 (not only the winter season) for markets of the euro zone, and overall, a decrease of 2-3 percent in all overnights would be realistic, should the euro remain at its current level against the Swiss franc.”
Statistics to the end of November 2010, the latest available, show an overall 2.4 percent decrease in overnight stays from January to end-November for the five euro currency countries that bring in 50 percent of the foreigners visiting Switzerland: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. Two other important markets for the Swiss are Britain and the US, both of which have currencies that have weakened against the franc.
November and December were good and January promising, but some dips
But overnight stays from the US rose nearly 9 percent in 2010, and the number of visitors was up nearly 11 percent in 2010, bouncing back from a 2009 dip.
And November was generally a good month, with hotel overnights up 4.9 percent during this weakest months of the winter season. Christmas and New Year’s traffic was good at most resorts, with canton Valais, for example, saying it was at 90 percent of capacity for bookings up to New Year’s. Canton Vaud told Swiss public television TSR in late December that books for January were relatively strong.
The Matterhorn's appeal is perennial, no matter where the Swiss franc stands
Zermatt saw things somewhat differently, but it depends more heavily on foreign traffic than some resorts. Daniel Luggen has an upbeat take on the situation:
“It is certainly not an easy time for Swiss tourism, especially for a destination like Zermatt, where 70 percent of the guests are coming from abroad. We have felt the influence during this last two months in terms of fewer overnights, with December down approximately 8 percent and January down about 10 percent, but also in the consuming habits of the guests. Thanks to a strong number of loyal vistors, the decrease was not too bad—among the Zermatt guests there are 75 percent repeaters.
“Even though we would appreciate it if the Swiss franc would lose its power, the decrease has also a good side: Zermatt suppliers actually have more time to take care of and pamper their guests.”
A personal observation from this journalist: easyJet at Geneva airport, which carries hordes of British skiers, continues to have large crowds.
Davos is different. It and most of canton Graubuenden rely very heavily on German tourists, so when the Germans stay away, the drop can be dramatic. And while the slopes are magnificent, some skiers would rather be on them when the WEF show and military presence have ended.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The number of regular flights to Russia is being increased by both Swiss and Aeroflot for the winter ski season, Geneva’s Cointrin Airport says. Aeroflot has added an additional evening flight every day to Moscow-Sheremetyevo airport, while Swiss is adding four flights a week between Geneva and Moscow-Domodedevo.
Emirates will begin daily flights between Dubai and Geneva in June 2011, according to the airport.
Helmets on all
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - “Safety and respect on the slopes” is the Swiss safety campaign slogan for the 2009-2010 winter. It is especially directed at the French-speaking parts of Switzerland in the third and final year of a major campaign to reduce winter sports accidents. The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention, known by its French initials BPA, says that only 46 percent of skiers and snowboarders wear helmets in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, against 72 percent in the Swiss-German part.
BPA started counting in 2003, and at that time only 16 percent of skiers and snowboarders in Switzerland wore head protection.
Geneva, Switzerland (20 Minutes Fre) – There is good news for the 100,000 people expected to pass through Geneva’s Cointrin Airport during each of the three holiday weekends coming up: border guards are opening up four instead of the usual two passport controls.
