Switzerland is courting super-rich tourists from overseas

Climate change can also be felt in the Swiss Alps, and classic winter sports are becoming less important. Instead, Switzerland is courting the super-rich – with glittering gondolas and luxury watches on the mountain.

Zermatt in Valais is a hotspot for Alpine tourism. The photogenic landmark of the Swiss mountains, the Matterhorn, towers here. The ski slopes are legendary and the glacier is even open in summer – or was open until the hot summer of 2022.

Climate change is also making the winter ski business more and more complex, says economist Jürg Stettler, head of the Lucerne Institute for Tourism Economics: “Classic skiing is becoming more and more difficult, more demanding and, above all, more and more expensive because it requires additional snowmaking infrastructure. The winter skiing product will be accordingly in the future become even more expensive.” And fewer and fewer people could afford that.

Leather shoes instead of hiking boots

Zermatt has always relied on the rich – in Switzerland, which is already expensive, it is a particularly expensive place. Since the summer, the Zermatt Bergbahnen has been offering a new attraction for wealthy customers from all over the world: the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing. The spectacular luxury gondola connection leads over the Theodul Glacier to Cervinia, Italy.

“This Alpine Crossing project is actually aimed at a new market – an excursion experience market that wants to make the mountain experience accessible not in the form of skiing but in the form of an excursion,” says Stettler. “You can do the whole thing with leather shoes, with normal everyday equipment.”

With the glittering gondola over the mountains

The return trip in spectacular new “premium gondolas with design standards” decorated with, according to the advertising, “thousands of shining crystals” costs up to 240 francs – almost 250 euros.

“Zermatt has stood for quality, service and a corresponding price for many years. We owe this to the Zermatt brand,” said Franz Julen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bergbahnen Zermatt, in July at the ceremonial opening of the new cable car.

Asians are in a hurry

There are also massive investments in other Swiss mountain railways. The Jungfrau Railways opened the “V-Bahn” in 2020, which only takes 45 minutes from the Grindelwald terminal to Jungfraujoch.

Speed ​​is important, says Kathrin Naegeli, spokeswoman for Jungfrau Railways: “Around 70 percent of the guests on the Jungfraujoch are guests from various Asian countries. And of course the speed also plays a role. You probably know this in Germany too, that they often do People land in Milan or Paris. Then they are in France for a day, then they come to Switzerland and so on…”

High altitude luxury watches

For particularly wealthy guests, the Jungfrau Railways have also set up a VIP lounge and founded a “Platinum Club” – for a mere 12,000 francs or 18,000 francs for two people. Club members can book a VIP cabin at any time and have various passes in summer and winter.

The Jungfrau Railways are planning even more spectacular things for the future: The “House of Clocks”, a luxury watch shop, is to be built high up on the eastern ridge of the Jungfrau. The building should look like clockwork and very special watches and special editions will be sold.

Skiing is not growth sector more

Tourism researcher Stettler is convinced that the offer is aimed specifically at the Asian market: “Asian guests come to Switzerland and want a mountain experience, ideally combined with snow and glaciers. And they want to go shopping. And in Switzerland that primarily means: buying watches .”

As with the luxurious Alpine Crossing in Zermatt, it is also clear here: in the coming years, the Swiss mountain railways will increasingly focus on the target group of the international super-rich. However, according to Stettler, skiing is “definitely no longer a growth driver” in the winter sports paradise of Switzerland.