Switzerland targets wealthy tourists, but at any cost?

The world is a very unsafe place at the present time – conflict, climate change and recession fears dominate the main headlines. But for some people, things go well – the wealthy.

Despite the global turmoil, the number of billionaires in the world grows and the personal wealth of each of them also increases.

So what do you do with all this money? The increasing trend of the final luxury experience is the slightest idea of ​​what the rich do very with their money. For the tourist industry in particular, it is an opportunity.

In Switzerland, which has long planted a reputation with the luxury that was criticized, the number of five -star hotels is increasing faster than any other category. Many of them were built in the early twentieth century – Grand Belle Epoque that serves the start -up category of distinguished English tourists in the first place.

Today, it has been renewed according to the highest standards, these hotels do not leave the unpopular guest’s desire. There are luxurious resorts, gym and suites designed with panoramic views of the Alps. Some offer “skiing servants” to transport guests to and from slopes, carry skis, and even help put their shoes.

The main markets are the United States, the Gulf states, China and Southeast Asia. Swiss hotel owners say in particular, and they expect a full five -star treatment, including 24 -hour room service, so that they can seek food in the middle of the night.

Meanwhile, China and India are emerging markets, as the first groups that travel from these two countries are among the richest wealthy. Switzerland is keen to enter the beginning of this trend.

But the five -star show comes at a large price, so where does that leave those who are not billionaires? Marcus Berger from Tourism in Switzerland says that the strategy is not only a focus on distinguished guests, but to take a very look at the numbers.

Residence in Swiss -five -star hotels constitute about 8 % of all night, but the guests contribute at least 25 % of the total Switzerland revenues from tourism.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” says Mr. Berger. “The high economic importance justifies adherence to luxury guests.”

He adds that Switzerland, with its high -price economy, cannot compete with the least expensive neighbors, especially that the Swiss franc is very strong.

“Switzerland has never tried to compete for prices,” explains Mr. Berger. “There is always in a cheaper place.”

Instead, the focus is on quality, service and added value, such as skiing servants. On the other hand, guests who come to five -star hotels also contribute to the rest of the economy, as they spend lavishly in restaurants that carried out the Michelin and boutique stores, which have also become an advantage in a number of Swiss Alpine resorts.

But it is not a total victory. In some of the most famous resorts in Switzerland, such as ST Moritz or Zermatt, there are long -term concerns that focusing on luxury is the pricing of the local population outside the market.

The common challenge is to find housing for hundreds of hotel staff and restaurants needed to provide a five -star service.

They sometimes find themselves moving late at night when the cocktail bars and restaurants finally close long trips to other villages where the residence is affordable for the waiter’s salary.

Monica Pandy, who leads the Tourism Research Unit at the Bern University Center for Regional Development, sees the Switzerland Stadium for advanced guests as a high budget. She says it is a “quantity for quality.”

You think more tourists are not necessarily better. Instead, higher spending in current numbers can be positive.

She adds that Switzerland needs to pay attention to “the turning point, as the destinations really lose its characters.”

Questions about the turning point are currently asked in the Wengen Resort, which is internationally famous for the Lauberhorn Ski Race, and its contracts for decades with British skiers-The “Download Hill Only” club celebrated a lot this year.

Also this year, Wengen opens the first five -star hotel ever, and there are also plans for a five -star complex of serviced “apartments”. It will be sold to wealthy tourists who want a luxurious vacation in the Alps, and they can also be rented when the owners are absent.

By calling the project a hotel, it takes advantage of a vulnerability in Switzerland’s strict laws against the “cold family” in holiday homes. In theory, the law is bordered by more than 20 % of the resort’s accommodation.

The Swiss Heritage Association has officially objected to Wengen’s plans, because the demand for claims Simon Weiss is not in fact a hotel. “It looks like a home holiday complex … there is no integration in society.”

The required public spaces that will have a hotel – restaurant and spa – but all will be under the ground. The priority of the design, Mr. Weiss, is for private luxury apartments that may be occupied for only a few weeks per year. “The design is unacceptable.”

Some local population in Wengen also have their doubts. One of the Swiss media said, “It is not strat now,” adding, “Wengen is not posh.”

Wengen Rolf Wegüller, the director of tourism at Wengen Rolf Wegüller, agrees with this evaluation, but he says that the trend towards luxury residency will not change the resort’s personality. “We will not have guests wandering in fur coats suddenly,” he says.

It indicates that Wengen can only be accessed by train, therefore, unlike STuritz, there will be no bentleys or rolls-royces that operate the parking places. Even if they can show their wealth proudly, Mr. WegMüller believes, “Our guests will not want to show what they have.”

The resort also has visitors to return year after year, which contributes to the integration of Weiss worries the loss. “Some families have been coming for generations. Local population knows, and this is good,” says Wegüller.

Among them is Brian Pollen, a member of the Download Hill Only Club, who was coming to Wengen for more than 50 years. He loves it, but it is worried that some “magic has moved from the place … it has ended.”

But most of them are in Wengein, such as Switzerland’s tourism, they see investment in positive Alpine resorts. These villages were not more than a century, very poor. The nineteenth English language guide to the Swiss Alps was written that “most children are beggars.”

In recent years, global trade rules that limit agricultural benefits forced many small dairy farms in the Alps to close. Tourism, winter and summer, is very important for the Swiss economy, especially for mountain societies.

As Mr. Berger indicates Switzerland’s tourism, while the five -star sector is growing, three -star hotels are still the largest category. “We have one to five stars (in Wengen).”. “This is a good thing in a resort.”

Although people with unlimited money to spend on luxury travel may still be in a small minority, their numbers and their wealth grow. It seems that the approach of Switzerland – not cheaper, but better, no more than people, more richer – richer.