Ski vacations in Switzerland are competitive again in terms of price
The price differences in winter tourism between Austria and Switzerland are narrowing: While prices are rising among our eastern neighbors, they are stagnating here.
"This winter, we can keep up with the Austrians in terms of prices," says Hotelleriesuisse President Andreas Züllig to the SonntagsZeitung. There are several reasons for this: On the one hand, the stronger euro is weakening the purchasing power of the Swiss abroad - vacations across the border are more than 6 percent more expensive than last year.
In addition, Austria has increased prices over the past few years. For example, wage costs have risen because there is a shortage of skilled workers and many qualified people earn their wages abroad (including in Switzerland).
This development is reflected in the price trend for hotels and restaurants: While Austria saw a 20 percent increase from 2010 to 2016, prices in Switzerland stagnated and even declined in the last two years.
"Prices must rise again"
According to Züllig, this price development in Switzerland also has to do with the fact that the local hotel industry tried to compensate for the declining bookings from the euro area with lucrative package offers and price reductions - and in doing so, in view of already low margins, went beyond the pain threshold, as Züllig emphasizes.
The president of Hotelleriesuisse is pleased with the regained competitiveness, but also calls for an end to the price spiral: "In the medium term, we need more courage again, prices must rise again."
The mountain railroads are also attractively priced
The favorable price development from a Swiss perspective can also be observed in mountain railroads. The SonntagsZeitung quotes a study by Grischconsulta, a company specializing in mountain railway consulting. Although the Swiss regions are still around 10 francs more expensive on average for high season day passes and 18 francs more expensive for 6-day passes, in the low season it is up to 17 percent cheaper to travel in Switzerland thanks to best price offers that can be booked online. Especially with season passes, Switzerland offers favorable prices that you won't find across the border.
Switzerland owes such significant differences to the dynamic pricing models that had to be developed in this country due to the decline in guests - they do not yet exist in Austria.
The ski portal Snowplaza, which analyzed and compared 130 European ski resorts in October, came to similar conclusions - namely that the Swiss mountain railroads have an attractive price development compared to the surrounding countries. (Werbewoche.ch reported).
Only in gastronomy are there still clear price differences between the two neighboring countries.
Switzerland Tourism has already communicatedMeanwhile, the optimistic forecasts for overnight stays - 2.8 percent more Swiss guests, almost 5 percent more guests from Germany - seem to be confirmed, as initial indications suggest. For example, Hotelplan has already recorded a 20 percent increase in bookings for skiing vacations in Switzerland compared to the previous year, while bookings for Austria are just under 10 percent below the previous year's figure. (hae)
Photo: Screenshot Switzerland Tourism
