Representatives of the cable car industry are optimistic
Published: Thursday, Oct 17th 2024, 12:20
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Despite the return of winters with little snow, representatives of the Swiss cable car industry are optimistic. The summer is becoming increasingly important for the cableways: passenger transport revenues soared during the warm season. The industry is positive and innovative, was the message from the Association of the Swiss Cableway Industry (SBS) to the media in Lugano on Thursday.
Transport turnover in the 2023/24 winter season climbed to the previous high of CHF 828 million from the 2021/22 winter season. The industry achieved this with a slight increase in the number of ski days to 23.1 million compared to 22.2 million in the 2022/23 winter season, as was reported at the media conference of the Swiss Cableway Industry Association (SBS). However, the peak frequency of 25.4 million ski days from winter 2021/22 was no longer reached.
In summer, passenger traffic revenue skyrocketed. In the 2022/23 season, they were almost five times higher than in the winter season. The most successful regions included Central Switzerland, the Bernese Oberland and the Vaud/Fribourg Alps.
Missing Asian market
"Basically, we have a good season behind us and the frequencies are appealing," said SBS President Hans Wicki to the Keystone-SDA news agency. "The international guests have returned in good numbers. Of course, the Asian market is still missing, especially the Chinese market."
Germany is also an important European market that is currently weakening, said SBS Director Berno Stoffel. As the euro will continue to lose ground in the future and the franc will remain strong, it must be assumed that certain customers will no longer be able to access Switzerland.
Positives Image
The cable cars benefit from a positive attitude towards winter sports. More and more respondents rated skiing and snowboarding as healthy. The sport is also perceived less as disfiguring the landscape. However, the image remains that skiing and snowboarding are energy guzzlers. The results are based on a market analysis conducted between 2019 and 2022.
According to the SBS, around a third of the Swiss population ski. On average, people ski five to six times a year. Skiing is the number one sport for children and young people. 59 percent of 10 to 14-year-olds and 43 percent of 15 to 19-year-olds ski.
Strategies against climate change
Climate change is a major challenge for mountain regions. By 2050, the zero degree limit is expected to be around 300 meters higher than at present. In Grindelwald BE, it is currently around 1000 meters. According to Stoffel, mountain stations are on average 1600 meters above sea level. Above 1800 meters, the future of snow sports is not at risk.
The majority of ski resorts expect snow reliability to decrease over the next 20 years and the snow sports season to become shorter. However, less than half expect a decline in demand for snow sports tourism.
SBS presented several strategic measures to the media in order to keep mountain tourism alive. On the one hand, snow reliability is to be ensured in order to safeguard snow operations. Among other things, snowmaking is to be expanded and ski areas are to be moved upwards.
Furthermore, the winter offers are to be expanded with fun sports such as snowkiting and winter golf or the organization of winter events on the mountain and winter sports. A third measure provides for the expansion of summer offers. These include fun adventure sports, events and themed hikes.
Cableways Switzerland wants to work together with municipalities and tourism organizations to finance these measures.
©Keystone/SDA
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