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The Flumserberg ski area in the canton of St. Gallen has been accessible since New Year’s Eve and registered 6,000 to 7,000 guests per day, as Heinrich Michel, CEO of Bergbahnen Flumserberg said on Sunday, at the request of Keystone- SDA. That is about a fifth less than in previous years. “We are very satisfied,” he said.
According to Michel, the acceptance of Corona’s protection measures by the guests was high. Masks were worn and distances to the waiting fences at the ski lifts were well maintained. Urs Keller, manager of Bergbahnen Hoch-Ybrig in the canton of Schwyz, also agreed with this, where the winter sports areas only reopened on Saturday. “The guests were exemplary,” Keller said.
The Hoch-Ybrig mountain railways did not yet have the number of customers transported on Sunday weekend. Since the season started on Dec. 12, however, they had suffered 75 percent losses compared to previous years, according to Keller. Due to the measures taken by the Federal Council, the ski area was closed again as of December 22.
One fifth fewer guests in Adelboden-Lenk
The protection concept also worked well in the Adelboden-Lenk ski region in the Bernese Oberland. Since there were no peak days, a moderately organized Corona operation could be offered, ski region spokesman Matthias Werren said Sunday. The vast majority of the guests adhered to the rules of protection.
About a fifth fewer guests than in previous years came to the ski area during the holiday season. Additional costs in the 6-digit range to implement protection concepts (more personnel, security services and material) will also have an impact on the results, according to Werren.
In the western Swiss cantons of Neuchâtel, Jura and Vaud, the authorities stated that they were satisfied with the correct behavior of winter sports enthusiasts. There was an incident in the canton of Vaud for which the authorities notified a ski area: due to a failure of a ski lift, there was a long queue in Villars, in which distances were no longer respected.
As they did over Christmas, winter sports enthusiasts were generally cautious. There were only a few accidents, mostly minor, also because there were fewer people on the tracks. In Flumserberg, for example, no one had to be taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital during the New Year.
Standing cold food
For many ski areas it was difficult because they could only offer take out food and no seats; restaurants had to be closed. Also, there was a lack of warm rooms. Official restrictions regarding gastronomy would have led to a massive decline in daytime tourism in Adelboden-Lenk, Werren said.
Ski area operators Flumserberg and Hoch-Ybrig noted that many guests, and especially families, only stayed in the ski area in the mornings due to limited dining options.
In the canton of Graubünden, on the other hand, catering could also be offered via ‘take-out’ with seating on the terraces for sunbathing from New Year’s Eve. The Bergbahnen Graubünden registered 17 percent fewer guests and nearly a quarter less turnover since the start of the season, as announced on Saturday.
Several ski areas could have opened early in late October or November and welcomed their guests. After the mini-blockade of Graubünden on December 2 and the Federal Council measures on December 22 and the restriction on the sale of one-day tickets by a third, the losses could no longer be avoided.
