Challenging Summer For Swiss Lift Co's

The interim results of the Swiss lift co's at the end of July show a mixed picture. In the first three summer months, the railways were unable to match the extremely positive results of the same period last year. Frequencies fell by 5 percent, but are still 12% higher than the 5-year average. In the medium term, summer is still on trend.

For the summer season monitoring, the Swiss Cable Car Industry Association evaluates the number of guests (first-time entries) in the summer season from over a hundred members from all over Switzerland. The figures now available for May to the end of July allow an initial interim assessment. After a cool and rainy June, the weekends in July were also marked by bad weather. It was not until the second half of July that the weather improved and the mountains became busier again.

Rainy July – mountain railways with foreign guests run better

The bad weather in the mountains and the many thunderstorms are bad conditions for excursions or holidays in the mountains. This was particularly the case on weekends in July, which had a negative impact on frequencies, especially for companies with domestic guests. The decline here was 9 percent, while mountain railways with mainly foreign guests recorded a decline of 2 percent. The latter are less sensitive to bad weather because trips are planned early. The decline in July was 4 percent compared to the previous year.

The slow start to the summer could therefore not be compensated for: in the months of May to July, a total of 5% fewer first-time admissions were registered than in the previous year.

Regional differences

A look at the individual regions reveals regional differences and peculiarities. The Vaud and Fribourg Alps can report a small increase (+1%), while the Valais (-12%), Eastern Switzerland (-16%) and Ticino (-1%) are roughly at the same level as the previous month. The Bernese Oberland (-1%) and Central Switzerland (-4%) show a positive trend compared to the previous month, and stronger positive signals can be seen in Graubünden (from -27% in the previous month to -15%).

Comparison with the 5-year average

The 5-year analysis is positive for the cable car industry. Compared to the average values ​​of the last five years, the number of guests has increased in all regions with three exceptions, with the increase ranging from 9% in Ticino to 31% in Central Switzerland. Overall, Swiss cable cars are pleased with 12% more guests. Compared to the 5-year average, Eastern Switzerland has recorded a slight decline in first-time entries of 3%, Valais by 5% and Graubünden by 18%. "The industry is looking forward with confidence to the second half of the summer with the traditionally important holiday month of August and the autumn months of September and October," concludes Stoffel.