Villeneuve, Montreux and Vevey made up the new formula for the Riviera Christmas markets, with increasing attendance: 550,000 people visited them. In Lausanne, the results of Bô Noël are mixed.
Christmas markets close shops. If attendance is on the rise in Montreux, driven by its European reputation, chalets have been significantly less successful in Vevey. Those who ran the dozen small businesses established on the Market Square recognize a certain disappointment: the financial objectives were not achieved.
Despite the ice rink and free buses, the Vevey Christmas village remained desperately empty on weekdays, with the public especially favoring Montreux. Weekend attendance was not enough and most exhibitors will not cover their costs by December 31. People who point out the lack of entertainment, stands and space.
The concept should have been better thought out according to Ibra, present in one of the ten chalets: “A little more advertising, first of all. That there be a little more craftsmen, exhibitors and that there be a consistency, with a little more Christmas magic. It should have been more connected between the three entities set up in Vevey.
The organization recognizes the difficulties encountered in Vevey: “It’s a little more difficult, we must not hide it, because it is new and there are not the mass of people that we have in Montreux “, explains Yves Cornaro, director of Riviera Noël.
Recalling that the chalets were cheaper in Vevey than in Montreux for the launch, Yves Cornaro emphasizes that the traders were aware that it was a first edition which would attract less business. “The one who took a chalet (…) starts and is in place so that, next year, we can take it back,” he remarks at the microphone of La Matinale. It will likely take time for the concept of three merged markets to work.
A mixed Bô Noël in Lausanne
In Lausanne, decentralization seems to have harmed certain exhibitors, despite an overall increase in attendance. The new layout of the Bô Noël market – coupled with the work at the station – is causing people to react.
An “Arts Market” had been set up a stone’s throw from the station, on the Plateforme 10 site which brings together three museums: the public could find the Ferris wheel, a toboggan run and around ten chalets there.
But the lack of attendance made the artisans disillusioned: some people left the place after only a few days. For those who stay, it is disappointment that dominates: “We thought we were going to work a lot and it’s true that there is not much attendance compared to the rest of the city”, remarks Lisa, who ran a drinks stand: “It’s more of a place of passage and people are not necessarily used to going here: it’s a little out of the way, even if it’s next to the station. We don’t necessarily know that there is something that is happening there.”
For its part, the organization points out that developing a new place is long-term work and believes in this location, which has had some great success this year.
A few hours before closing its doors, Bô Noël is already announcing a sharp increase in attendance for this year, with 420,000 people, or 60,000 more than last year.
Robin Baudraz/sjaq
