Jungfrau Railways team up with Sölden

In the future, the two destinations want to appear together under the brand "Ultimate Summits". With this unusual cooperation, the two tourism regions want to strengthen their respective weaker seasons.

When two competitors team up, there must be good reasons. On the surface, it's the winter season in the case of the Jungfrau Region and the summer season in the case of Sölden, where the competitors are hoping for help from the other. However, the real reason for the cooperation is the climate-related crisis in the winter business.

"Winter tourism is a declining market overall," said Jungfrau Railways chief Urs Kessler at a joint media conference in Zurich on Tuesday. The two ski areas' answer to that: cooperation. "You have to join forces with the best if you don't want to stand still," Kessler said. It's simply a matter of benefiting from each other's expertise. Specifically, it's about sharing knowledge, for one thing. For example, Sölden helped Jungfrau Railways to procure the latest type of chairlift. Thanks to the help from Sölden, Jungfrau Railways should also succeed in entering the tourism market in Eastern Europe.

Joint advertising appearances

As a countertrade, marketing managers from Jungfrau Railways will travel to Sölden in July 2017 to help the Austrian destination build up its market for the summer business. The main aim is to attract Asian guests to Sölden. On the other hand, the new business partners have agreed to also promote the other destination in each case during advertising appearances in the future. "This costs us nothing at all," said Jack Falkner, the boss and co-owner of Söldner Bergbahnen. Among other things, there will be joint advertising appearances at the World Cup races in Sölden and Wengen.

Neither partner is afraid that with mutual advertising, guests might migrate to the competitor. "We can only win," said Falkner. They do not see themselves as direct competitors.

Different starting position

The starting position of the two tourist resorts is different. Jungfrau Railways generates 85 percent of its traffic revenue in the summer season. The Jungfraujoch attracts a particularly large number of guests from Asia. The region between Wengen and Grindelwald is concerned about the winter season. In the last ten years, the number of guests in winter has dropped by a quarter. With the cooperation, Jungfrau Railways now hopes to be able to stop this decline.

Sölden, on the other hand, is primarily a winter destination. The ski resort in the Ötztal valley generates over 90 percent of its revenue in winter, with guests coming primarily from Austria and Germany. However, Sölden is also strong in tourist markets in Eastern Europe and the Netherlands. In contrast, hardly any tourists come to the valley from Asia. However, the new tourism partners also have unmistakable similarities.

In addition to the staging of World Cup races and the number of facilities, it is above all the organization of tourist events such as music open airs and the high level of investment in infrastructure. Sölden, for example, is opening the new Giggijochbahn at the beginning of winter, which will be the first lift to feature ten-person gondolas. Jungfrau Railways, for its part, is planning two new gondola lifts to Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen. "Mediocrity is no longer in demand," Kessler said.

The cooperation between Jungfrau Railways and Sölden is only just beginning. According to Kessler, further collaborations are already planned. The new partners will make their first joint appearance next weekend in Sölden. The Ski World Cup season will open there with a giant slalom. (SDA)