73rd General Meeting Of Aletsch Bahnen AG: Record Sales In The Snowy Winter Of 2023/24
An early season opening, lots of snow and loyal snow sports fans have brought the Aletsch Railways record sales in winter 2023/24. Together with the equally pleasing summer business in 2023, the company achieved an operating result of CHF 15.4 million with total revenue of CHF 49.3 million.
In the reporting year (1 May 23 – 30 April 24), Aletsch Bahnen AG generated total revenue of CHF 49.3 million (previous year CHF 45.9 million) with an operating result of CHF 15.4 million and a cash flow of CHF 14.3 million. The figures can only be compared to a limited extent with the previous year, as the latter only covered 11 months (1 June 2022 – 30 April 2023) due to a shift in the accounting closing date.
Due to the early onset of winter, the first winter sports facility (Flesch chairlift, Fiescheralp) was able to go into operation at the end of November 2023. On December 8, 2023, all main slopes were open. From this point on, connections between the three Alps were also guaranteed. The snowy winter attracted numerous guests until February 2024, which led to a winter sales record despite the bad weather in March and the early Easter date.
Awards
Among the top ski resorts in the Alpine region (D/A/CH/I/F), the Aletsch Arena came 6th in the guest satisfaction survey “Best Ski Resort” for overall satisfaction, with a very high recommendation rate of 60.9% (3rd place, average value in the Alpine region: 30.8%) and a price-performance ratio of 3rd place for ski tickets. The Blick Award recognized the Aletsch region as the third best and at the same time family-friendly Swiss ski resort.
The 2023 summer result was also encouraging. Summer business generates around 20% of annual passenger transport revenue and is to be boosted with sustainable projects, but also by renewing the adventure cable car to the Eggishorn. The Aletsch Bahnen was awarded "Test Winner Switzerland - Summer 2023 Gold" by the international ski area tests.
investments in 2023/24
In the reporting year 2023/2024, Aletsch Bahnen AG invested CHF 8.3 million, primarily in transport systems, catering establishments and piste management (snowmaking, maintenance and vehicles).
Night skiing was very popular in winter 2023/2024 thanks to the extension from Riederalp to Bettmeralp. In winter 2023/2024, the return piste from Eggishorn was also reopened after two years of closure and investments in protective structures. At the exit of the Schönbiel chairlift on Bettmeralp, cameras monitor the seating position of guests - if there are any irregularities, the AI-based system triggers a safety alarm. The evaluations of this test phase are still ongoing.
Project Eggishorn - The plan is to completely rebuild the cable car from Fiescheralp to Eggishorn in 2025/2026. At the same time, a new restaurant is being built on the Eggishorn, the concept of which had to be redesigned due to its lack of uniqueness. To redesign the restaurant, an architectural competition was launched by invitation in accordance with SIA 142. This architectural competition to design a mountain restaurant on the Eggishorn was concluded to great satisfaction. On September 17, 2024, the jury unanimously selected the winning project. The jury was able to assess a wide range of high-quality, diverse and well-developed entries over two jury days.
All projects met the formal requirements. From a total of nine entries, the "Belvédère" project by the Sion-based firm "Savioz Fabrizzi Architectes" emerged as the winner. The design impresses with its respectful approach to the unique mountain and glacier landscape, the functional and design interaction with the mountain station, and a very good guest experience of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The project will be further developed in a quality assurance process in cooperation with the jury for the building application. The Board of Directors is striving to start construction work on the new cable car to the Eggishorn with a panoramic restaurant and glacier display in 2025.
