Camping is booming In the Corona summer

The Zug tourism industry in general is suffering from the effects of the Corona crisis. Even some of the well-filled camping sites are expecting to make losses this year.

Although the Swiss population is being encouraged to spend their summer holidays in Switzerland wherever possible, the hoteliers in Zug are still waiting for a rush of guests. Things are different for the operators of the camping sites: Jörg Bieri from the Unterägeri camping site says: "The phones have been continuously ringing. And we sometimes have 80 to 90 mails per day."

Almost all the places are already fully booked. It’s mainly Swiss people who will visit the camping site, but a few German, Belgian or Dutch campers will also spend their summer in Unterägeri.

The TCS campsite on Lake Zug is also very busy, says Barbara Gsell. The site became fully booked shortly after the re-opening, she recalls:

"The operation suddenly went from zero to a hundred percent."

Jörg Bieri fears that the losses resulting from the closure of the Unterägeri campsite during the spring months will no longer be recovered. "If autumn is good, however, and the deficit will probably be limited." There are only a few restrictions on camping activities due to protective measures. "The customers are following the hygiene measures well. The number of sinks, washing places and toilets has been reduced. Or have been separated by plexiglass," reports Bieri.

The camping business is also booming in Morgarten
Patrick Müller from the Naas camping site in Morgarten is also happy about the current situation: "The demand is insane. We have to turn away most prospective guests, because everything is fully booked." Here, too, the majority of customers are Swiss, in contrast to other years.

The campsite in Unterägeri is very busy. It’s mainly Swiss guests who ill be spending their summer holidays there.

The Neselen campsite in Morgarten was lucky, because it is only open in the summer and therefore had to suffer hardly any lockdown losses. "We are about as busy as in previous years, but we don't want to take in  too many guests, because we want them to feel comfortable and ensure that the protection concept is followed," says Yvonne Hotz from the Neselen campsite.

Zug hotels have poor occupancy rates
The hotels in the canton of Zug are in a crisis situation, however. "Businessmen and foreigners in particular are missing," says Barbara Förster of the Hotel Eierhals on Lake Aegeri. People are very cautious and hesitant. There are only a few holiday bookings, but there are short-term guests looking for a room for a few nights. In general, bookings have fallen sharply compared to previous years.

The operators of the Hotel Ochsen in Zug report the same thing. "We only have an occupation level of 5 to 15%," says director's assistant Sarah Kieninger. The occupancy at the Hotel Löwen in Zug is also currently nowhere near as good as under normal circumstances, says Managing Director Christoph Ruckli. "In cooperation with Zug Tourism, we have developed an ESAF Revival package to introduce guests to the beautiful canton of Zug." (Editor's note: see below.)

The operators of the Gasthaus zur Linde in Steinhausen are also dissatisfied with the current situation. "We are catastrophically under-booked," complains Managing Director Viktor Jans. "It will be impossible to make up for the losses from the lockdown."

All the hoteliers praised the behaviour of their guests, however, who are following the protection concept well and do not appear to consider the changes as too serious. So that’s not where the problem lies. "A lot of attractive events, such as concerts or the Zuger Messe have been cancelled," says Johanna Gascoin of the Hotel Ibis in Baar. "The hotel industry is suffering greatly from this." The Ibis is mainly geared towards business travellers. "Many companies have not yet resumed their travel activities. And the international public is also absent at the moment."

The Zug Youth Hostel awaits many summer guests
Sabine Palme, operations manager of the Zug Youth Hostel, believes that people are looking for affordable accommodation because of the short-time work, and because their holiday budget is lower than in other years. Her accommodation is already almost fully booked in the months of July and August. There are only individual places left in the shared rooms. "More reservations were received at the end of May and in June," she says.

"The Youth Hostel was also open during the lockdown, and although we had noticeably fewer guests, we were still able to cover the costs." Things also look good for next September, and the Youth Hostel Zug will probably not record any losses for this year. It's above all active Swiss tourists of all ages who have reserved for the coming months. "The Heart Route for cyclists, which leads from Geneva to Lake Constance, and also passes through Zug, has never been as popular as this year."

Zug Tourism is confronting the Corona crisis with a special campaign
With the ‘Esaf Revival Package’, Zug Tourism has launched a campaign to support the local providers of tourist services. The package includes an overnight stay, a special trip on Lake Zug with dinner, a visit to the Etter Distillery or the Baar brewery, and free travel by train by public transport and cable car. "This is intended to give guests a reminder of the many beautiful memories from Esaf 2019 (The Federal Alpine Wrestling festival) ," says Peter Niederberger, Managing Director ad interim of Zug Tourism.

For more information, please refer to www.zug-tourismus.ch/esafrevival.