Tourism regions rely on guests from outside Europe

Tourism managers in the Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland unanimously tell the SDA news agency that the booking situation over the festive period is even slightly better than last year. "Our hotels are up to 80 percent full," says Sibylle Gerardi, Head of Communications at Lucerne-Lake Lucerne Tourism. For Harry John, Tourism Director of the Canton of Bern, the glass is also half full: "We are gaining market share." This cautious optimism is surprising because, like everywhere else, there is a lack of snow in these regions. In addition, the Swiss franc is still very expensive compared to the euro. Both are challenges that are affecting Swiss winter tourism. "Of course, weather and snow conditions are important, because the increasingly short-term bookings, especially after the festive season, only start to rattle in when there is snow in the lowlands," admits John. It is cold enough to make artificial snow on the slopes in the mountain regions. But because there has been no snow in the lowlands so far, guests are not drawn to the ski resorts. What's more, the coming winter season is two weeks shorter than the last one because Easter 2016 is already at the end of March. These are factors that tourism providers can hardly influence.

Important role of marketing

However, they do have an influence on their own marketing and therefore on their own guest structure in the long term. Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland, for example, have been focusing on guests from outside the eurozone for years. In addition to Swiss visitors, who account for 50 to 60 percent of overnight stays, tourists from England and the USA are the main visitors to the Oberland, with a share of over 10 percent. And according to John, these international guests are compensating for the decline in guests from Germany and the Benelux countries in the current winter season. This is because winter vacations in Switzerland have become massively more expensive for these two groups of guests due to the weak euro in relation to the strong franc. In the Bernese Oberland, around 12 percent of guests come from Germany. In summer, Central Switzerland already saw an increase in guests from so-called long-distance markets, America and Asia. These have compensated for the declines in individual European markets, says Gerardi. "We expect a similar shift in the medium term for the winter: fewer Europeans, but more guests from the long-distance markets, who will then also increasingly enjoy winter sports." Such a mix is an advantage in the current currency situation, according to both regions.

More difficult situation for Grisons resorts

In Graubünden, on the other hand, where Germans make up the most important foreign guest group with a 20 percent share of overnight stays, tourism experts are expecting a decline in overnight stays for the coming winter season. The booking situation for the festive season is satisfactory, says Myriam Keller, interim head of Graubünden Ferien. But: "From January 2, the booking figures are currently still below expectations." The snow situation will also be important here. But even more so in the coming winter, "the strong franc will hit hard", says Keller. While she expects overnight stays among the Swiss to remain at the previous year's level, the larger destinations in the north of the Grisons "are experiencing major losses, especially with guests from Germany, and in the south of the Grisons more Italians are also staying away."

Over the last five years, the proportion of Germans has already fallen by an average of 23 percent, but since last January, when the Swiss National Bank abandoned the minimum euro exchange rate, the situation has worsened: "Half of this loss comes from this year alone," says Keller. She expects a decline of over 10 percent in the number of guests from abroad this winter. This means that Graubünden will not be able to compensate for the decline in guests from the eurozone with other foreign guests. Keller therefore wants to place an even stronger marketing focus on local guests, who make up the largest group with 60 percent of overnight stays. Those responsible in Valais are keeping mum. They say that the destinations are "mostly satisfied" with the bookings for the Christmas and New Year week. However, Matthias Summermatter from the Valais/Wallis Promotion media service admits that fewer guests from the eurozone in particular are expected due to the strong franc. He does not provide any information on the guest structure or any strategies to compensate for the loss of guests from the eurozone. (SDA)