Swiss Liftco’s - Detailed Study Of The Last Winter Season

Even if the pandemic still cast its shadow over the beginning of winter 2021/2022, the season exceeded all expectations. The frequentation of the Swiss ski areas has again reached a pleasing level. The Swiss clientele was represented on the ski slopes with a record level and the foreign clientele returned with almost the same volume as in the years before Covid-19. The 2021/22 season was characterized by the following points: 

The ski areas could open at their own discretion from the beginning of the season and without any significant restrictions. Only wearing a mask was mandatory in closed cabins and SBS had voluntarily decided to limit capacity in large gondolas, but this was lifted again during the course of the season. The authorities could not rule out that if the situation worsened, a Covid certificate would also have to be presented. However, this measure never had to be taken. 

Skier-days are up sharply after two lean years marked by the pandemic and related restrictions. They passed the 25 million mark for the first time since 2012/13. As many skier days were counted by Swiss skiers as last in winter 2008/09. 

The cable car companies' sales figures increased very well thanks to a combination of volume effects and price optimization, even if the average price for a skier-day ultimately only returned to the level of 2019/20. 

The season has generally started with good snow conditions. After that, the snowfall wasn't extensive anymore, but the cold and nice weather made for good conditions. Most regions were able to record a good distribution of guests over the entire season. 

The Arc jurassien and Ticino continue to struggle due to lack of snow for much of the season. They could therefore not benefit from the national increase in traffic. 

Each season brings another mystery: last year saw a high volume of Polish guests, but they have not returned in 2021/22. The return of a large number of foreign guests to the ski slopes last winter did not have the same impact on hotel overnight stays. Other forms of accommodation have benefited from this