Successful September For Swiss Lift Co's

While the results of the Swiss cable cars in August were slightly below the previous year's figures, the cable car operators can look forward to a successful September and can look back on a successful summer season so far. This is shown by the evaluations for September as part of the summer season monitoring by Cable Cars Switzerland (SBS).

For the summer season monitoring, Seilbahnen Schweiz, as the association of the Swiss cable car industry, also analyzed the number of guests (first arrivals) and the turnover for passenger transport of 60 members from all over Switzerland in September. The cumulative results since the beginning of summer are very encouraging: Overall, the cable cars in Switzerland have transported over 10% more guests compared to the last summer season and have therefore generated 14% more revenue since May.

The numbers are also correct in the vast majority of regions. In terms of both the number of guests and revenue for passenger transport, the results are positive in all regions compared to the previous year, except for the canton of Graubünden. Central Switzerland achieved the greatest increase with 23% more guests; the increase of 16% in the Bernese Oberland is also notable. "The large number of guests from long-distance markets continues to benefit the industry. In addition, the sunny weather conditions, especially on the weekends, have attracted many guests to the mountains. Mountain experiences are and will remain attractive to the Swiss population,” says Berno Stoffel, Director of SBS.

Particularly strong September 2023

The detailed analysis of the month of September shows that overall the number of guests in the month of September increased by over 40% compared to the same period last year (Fig. 2). Eastern Switzerland is particularly striking, with the number of guests almost doubling, but also Central Switzerland with a 65% increase, and in the Vaud and Friborg Alps the number of guests also increased by more than half. With the exception of Ticino (-10%), all other regions also recorded positive figures compared to September of the previous year.

Results continue to be above the 5-year average

The current figures from the summer season monitoring also show that not only the results were exceeded compared to the previous year, but also compared to the 5-year average. When comparing the current summer season with the average of the last five years, it can be seen that throughout Switzerland the number of guests has increased by 14% and sales have increased by 27%. The various regions can look forward to an increase in guests of between 30% in Central Switzerland and 5% in Eastern Switzerland. Only Graubünden recorded a slight decrease of 3%. “These figures clearly show that the path taken by many mountain railways to expand their summer and autumn offerings has been very well received by the market,” concludes Stoffel.