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There was not much of a rush during Christmas in the Swiss open ski areas. Therefore, the accident figures also remained low.
The Grisons ski resorts are open: winter sports enthusiasts on December 26 at the Flims Laax Falera ski resort.
Photo: Gian Ehrenzeller (Keystone)
There were fewer people on the Swiss ski slopes than expected during the festive season. The Lenzerheide / Arosa and Adelboden-Lenk snow sports areas were only halfway there. In return, the protection measures of the crown could be observed.
In the Lenzerheide / Arosa snow sports area there were slightly less than half as many guests during the festive season as the previous year. The area has a capacity of 21,000 guests. Utilization of up to 70 percent would be allowed. However, this was only 50 percent over the weekend, and even lower in the days before.
“People are very reserved,” said Peter Engler, CEO of Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG, on Sunday (read also: Skiing as a moral dilemma: a pros and a cons). Above all, the Swiss and second home owners did not attend. The access of foreign tourists is restricted anyway.
We were expecting a little more guests, Engler said. Those who come would have enough space for that. According to Engler, the concept of protection works well. There were no problems queuing anywhere and guests adhered to the guidelines.
Few hospital admissions
The situation is similar in the Bernese Oberland. “The holiday season, including December 26, was below expectations,” said Matthias Werren, spokesman for the Adelboden-Lenk ski region. Although Saturday was pleasant, only 50 to 60 percent of the usual number of guests were in the central zone.
“As a result, we were able to offer a very quiet and moderately very disciplined operation at Corona,” continued Werren. It is also positive that the number of accidents, especially those of hospital admissions, is very low (more on the subject: An assessment of ski accidents and possible consequences for hospitals.).
This was confirmed by Christian Dubois from the Villars, Gryon and Les Diablerets ski area in Waad. Skiers are more cautious than usual, knowing full well that hospitals are already crowded, Dubois said. So far there have only been minor injuries.
It is also unusual that no helicopters have to be called during the first three weekends of the season. The ski area registered around 9,700 guests on Saturday, which is neither below nor above average.
The cantons of Graubünden, Valais, Bern, Vaud and Ticino kept their ski areas open during the festive period. By contrast, the mountain railways in central and eastern Switzerland stopped operating due to the corona pandemic.
80 percent fewer air passengers
There were also fewer air travelers during the holiday season than usual. Between December 17 and 26, the Zurich airport recorded around 70 percent fewer flights and 80 percent fewer passengers compared to the previous year. In 2019 there were 5,800 flight movements, this includes takeoffs and landings in Zurich, this year there are only 1,800.
This was announced by Philip Gentsch from Zurich airport. Gentsch explains the decline with Corona’s travel restrictions. Certain destinations shouldn’t fly at all, he said.
At Geneva airport, the drop in passenger numbers was as high as 84 percent. Between December 23 and 27, just over 47,000 passengers flew to or from Geneva; in the previous year there were almost 300,000 in the same period.
No overload on the train
The trains were not overloaded during Christmas either. SBB reported “normal operation”. Many people stayed home, a spokesperson said. Also, the weather was not so pleasant that there was a lot of rush.
