Other countries looks enviously at Switzerland

A "Swiss Ischgl" has so far failed to appear, and the protection concepts seem to work in the mountains. A high-ranking CDU politician doesn’t like the fact that more and more Germans are now coming for ski holidays here, and appeals to his compatriots.

It was a magnificent weekend in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, one of the largest winter sports resorts in Germany. "The weather was fantastic, people came in droves," says Matthias Stauch, the head of the Zugspitzbahn there, and sighs: "Business would have been very good."

Would – because in Bavaria, as everywhere in Germany, a ski lockdown applies. Even the toilets must remain closed. But the car parks were still overcrowded on Sunday. Stauch: "People want to get out, they need fresh air, many people came with touring skis and were dashing here and there."

He wonders, rhetorically: "From an epidemiological point of view, is this better than an orderly ski operation?" Mountain railway chief Matthias Stauch admits: "We look across the border into Switzerland with a certain amount of envy. The orderly ski operation seems to work there. I wish our colleagues the best."

A few months ago, Switzerland was still being pilloried by neighbouring countries. It was the only Alpine country to leave its ski resorts completely open – even for foreign guests. Austria only allows local people. In Europe, only Sweden, Norway and Finland have otherwise opened some of their slopes.

In doing this, they are opposing the common demand of the powerful EU countries Germany, France and Italy to close ski resorts across all the countries. Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Giuseppe Conte made this a personal campaign.

The decision hung by a thread in the Federal Council
Insiders claim that the mood almost changed in the Federal Council in December. Health Minister Alain Berset (SP) is said to have spoken at a meeting about "sanctions" from the neighbouring states, which were threatened if Switzerland didn’t close the ski areas. He also pointed to possible reputational damage. The scenario of a "Swiss Ischgl" was in the air.

Despite these concerns, the Federal Council remained steadfast – according to well-informed sources, Viola Amherd (CVP), who is from Valais and who is otherwise regarded as a Corona hardliner, wanted to keep the lifts running. The decision could always be changed  if the situation worsened, she argued.

That didn’t happen, quite the contrary. As crowds flocked to the mountains over Christmas and New Year, photos of crowds of people caused outrage on social media.

But the number of infections didn’t increase in the weeks that followed, but actually decreased. The picture has become clearer in the meantime. The winter sports areas have by no means proved to be risk zones.

Passing the Gessler hats: Switzerland follows its own line               Caricature: Silvan Wegmann
Photo 1: Ski school in Arosa: After an outbreak of mutant viruses, the ski school was temporarily closed and the whole village was tested - and operation quickly returned to normal.                                                                                                    Dominic Wirth
Photo 2: 30% fewer guests: Daniel Luggen, spa director of Zermatt.            Alex Spichale

Headline-grabbing outbreaks with mutated viruses in Wengen, St. Moritz and Arosa were quickly contained, accompanied by consistent testing of the population. The domestic critics have now fallen silent. Green Party President Balthasar Glättli, who had called for the ski resorts to be closed, did not respond to a request for comment.

Daniel Luggen, Zermatt's spa director, says: "The protection concepts have proven their worth, even if it was very challenging to manage hundreds of people during the morning rush hours." From floor markings to "Covid angels", no effort has been spared to ensure discipline.

Frequencies between November and the end of January fell by 30% in Zermatt. That's a lot, but not the 100% percent that they had in the ski resorts of Germany, France and Italy. In Graubünden, where the percentage of Swiss skiers is higher, the decline is 25%, and in "Swiss strongholds" such as Lenzerheide or Flims Laax, only 10%.

Representing the entire industry, Zermatt-born Luggen says: "We can be proud that we have taken our employees out of short-time working and that the state has been spared a lot of costs." He wants to continue the season as planned until the end of April.

Germans are drawn to Switzerland – even without advertising
The cantonal sports holidays are now coming to an end. In Germany, however, many winter sports enthusiasts traditionally only travel in March or during the Easter holidays. The Swiss ski resorts don’t like to talk about this, but the case is clear: in many places, a strong influx from Germany is expected.

As early as December, foreign guests provided as many as 20% of the overnight stays (usually 40%), even in Graubünden Most of them were Germans. Zermatt's spa director Luggen says: "We are very optimistic about welcoming many German and French guests. There are many regulars who say: We’re coming, and we won’t let our holidays be taken away from us, we need them more than ever."

But he is wary of advertising, which would only cause provocation, emphasizes Luggen.

Criticism of the Switzerland’s special path could arise again during the German holiday season– or, rather, criticism of their own disobedient citizens. CDU member of parliament Thorsten Frei, who hails from the Black Forest, told CH Media that he has "no understanding" for German holidaymakers who head for the Swiss mountains.

"It’s now a case of minimizing mobility and reducing contacts as much as possible. In the worst case, new infections could be brought inro the country," says Frei, who is vice-chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. "These infections could lead to another lockdown."

Frei, who is said to have a good relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel, has the following wish: "That all citizens should be considerate and disciplined for a few more weeks and that they should avoid such trips, so that we all come out of the pandemic as quickly as possible together."

But Thorsten Frei doesn’t want to point the finger at Switzerland. "Every country can make their own decisions. Honestly, though, I don’t think this is a good thing, because it also triggers unnecessary movements within Germany. But our neighbours also have a slightly different strategy than we do. At the end of the pandemic, we need to reconsider everything in a factual manner. I’m convinced that a coordinated path would be better for all of us."