Winter sports –
Station attendance during the holidays breaks records
With optimal conditions, some Swiss resorts have doubled their turnover. Historic figures were notably reached in Anzère (VS).
Published today at 1:48 p.m.
The skiers were there in Villars, in the Vaudois Alps.
KEYSTONE/Jean-Christophe Bott
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“Exceptional”, “fantastic”, “out of the ordinary”, Swiss ski resorts have no shortage of superlatives to describe the record attendance on the slopes during the holidays. Some have doubled their turnover, and others have broken historical records.
Attendance at the slopes in Anzère (VS) during the holidays was “the best ever”, declares the president of Téléanzère Sébastien Travelletti. The last record, reached in 2019 with 5,723 daily entries, was broken twice between Christmas and New Year, he said.
The objectives for the end of year period will be achieved, even if the overall results are currently slightly lower than last year due to a less favorable start to the season. The Grimentz-Zinal (VS) ski lifts are already slightly ahead of the previous season. “This is the best December we have ever had,” says its director Pascal Bourquin.
Same story in the Vaudois Alps, taken by storm by skiers over the last ten days marked by perfect snow and constant sunshine. “Attendance is higher than last year, which was already a record year for the Christmas period,” explains the director of the Villars-Gryon-Diableret lifts, Martin Deburaux.
The Swiss Ski Lifts are due to publish the first detailed quantitative analyzes on Friday.
Boost attendance at low altitude
The now exceptional nature of such conditions for skiing reinforces the enthusiasm of the Swiss, who represent the majority of the clientele. Many of them went up to the stations to avoid the gray weather on the plains.
And this includes in low altitude resorts, where snow is becoming increasingly rare. “The number of customers during the holidays and the turnover have doubled compared to last season,” rejoices Marc-André Léchot, president of the board of directors of Téléskis aux Prés-d’Orvin (BE), at above Bienne.
The station, which was able to open continuously between December 24 and January 1, will not be in deficit, after two years of deficit, explains Marc-André Léchot. Although optimistic, he nevertheless says he is realistic. These snow conditions no longer being the norm, the operation now also relies on summer activities to cover its costs.
The snow delighted all the Swiss, also in the German-speaking region. All records in the 55-year history of the Hoch-Ybrig station in the canton of Schwyz have been broken, according to its manager. The conditions were also perfect on the slopes of the Jungfrau Ski Region.
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