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Swiss holiday destinations are once again hopeful. “We all hope that the mountain and the cable cars will reopen on June 8,” Andrés Lietha, director of tourism for Engelberg-Titlis, told the media. The indications increased that the Federal Council gave the green light.
His stomach ache is that mountain railways, restaurants, and hotels can only use half their capacity due to high protection requirements. “If that takes longer, it can’t be cheap,” explains Lietha.
The official decision of the Federal Council on the opening of the last closure companies, mountain and rope takeoffs and camps is expected on May 27. Engelberg OW has suffered a drop in value creation of CHF 14 million since mid-March.
Bright dots for the summer holidays.
Rigi-Bahnen chief Frédéric Füssenich also plans to reopen on June 8. The protection and hygiene measures must be adapted to the SBB, it requires. “If protective measures lead to large capacity constraints, this would disconnect our branch again. So it is not worth opening it », he emphasizes.
For the current year, Rigibahnen anticipates sales of CHF 17.5 instead of CHF 30 million. Füssenich expects a 40 percent drop among international guests.
The Engadin St. Moritz destination booked 60 percent fewer overnight stays in March than in the previous year. The entire winter season ended with less than 10 percent. However, Jan Steiner of Engadin St. Moritz Tourism is seeing the first bright spots of the year. “While vacation apartments are already booked for summer and fall, the hotel industry seemed tough until a week ago. Since then there has been light on the horizon, “says Steiner.
“Dumping prices only bring losers”
Reservations concentrated on the Swiss vacation weeks, before and after there was still room. It wants to attract Swiss guests, who contribute 56 percent of summer bookings, with added value and special offers. “We would all lose by dumping prices,” he is convinced.
Also for Janine Bunte, director of Swiss youth hostels and president of IG Parahotellerie Switzerland, discount offers are not a problem: “If we lower prices, we would no longer be able to pay employees.” Between 30 and 50 percent, sales have collapsed among IG members in recent weeks. In addition to Jugis, this also includes Reka, Interhome, TCS Camping and B&B Switzerland.
There are hardly any reservations from mid-March to late June, Bunte said. He fears that the lack of overnight stays in July and August could not be compensated. Demand in mountain regions is currently increasing strongly. But there is a pause in the cities and in the lowlands, Bunge explains.
Lack of planning security
The proportion of overnight stays abroad in the para-hotel industry is between 20 and 60 percent. She criticizes: “There is a lack of planning security.” It is still unclear when school camps and events will be possible again. Many guest groups had not yet canceled their reservations for the fall, but they would have to slowly know what was possible until then.
The situation of the reserve is disappointing, says Daniel Twerenbold, head of the Radisson Hotel Group Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Except for the Radisson Blu in Andermatt UR, its six Swiss hotels are located in cities or at the airport. The occupancy rate was only 40 percent at the end of the year, a year ago it was 80 percent. Their skin problem: guests from abroad accounted for 61 and 80 percent of overnight stays.
