Top hotelier calls for better coordination of school vacations
Published: Saturday, Dec 16th 2023, 22:30
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In an interview, Hotelleriesuisse President Andreas Züllig has called on the cantons to better coordinate school vacations. It would not be in their interest if people in the mountains had to step on each other's toes and pay higher prices.
"The fact that everyone is always on vacation at the same time is a problem," said the industry representative in an interview with the Sonntagszeitung, which was published online on Saturday evening.
This year, for example, the sports vacations in the large cantons of Basel and Zurich and in Germany are in the same weeks, said the 65-year-old host of the Hotel Schweizerhof in Lenzerheide GR. "The rooms are booked out quickly and the prices rise."
Less ski storage
"It would be very helpful for tourism in the mountains if at least the large cantons could coordinate their vacations," said Züllig, who is stepping down at the end of the year after nine years at the helm of the hoteliers' association.
Züllig was concerned about the dwindling number of ski camps, which are an inexpensive winter vacation option for children. In recent years, fewer and fewer such camps have been held, he said. Teachers were no longer willing to make the effort, and municipalities no longer maintained affordable ski lodges or had sold them. "This is how children used to come into contact with snow sports. If this no longer happens, they lose their connection to the mountains and no longer go on ski vacations."
Influencer als Problem
According to Züllig, the industry recovered well for the most part after the pandemic. However, he does not believe that Switzerland will now be overrun by tourists as a destination. "The offer is still expensive by international standards."
The problem is influencers who post photos of places of interest, said Züllig. "People then travel there from all over the world just to take a certain photo. It's an absurd development and a real problem for individual spots."
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