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According to Swiss website, NZZ
online, the Swiss are losing interest in skiing.
Decline in numbers of Swiss skiing
At the start of the season the National Tourist Board said that
only 38% of Swiss planned to take a ski holiday this winter, while
the Swiss Cable Car Association reported a 5% fall in Swiss visitors
over the past five years.
It has been suggested the decline of interest is linked to the recent
poor performances by the Swiss Alpine Ski Team, although it is known
that the skier population is aging and the most Swiss now prefer
to head to warmer climes for their holidays.
Low-cost resorts?
Some think radical action is required. Peter Bodenmann, a former
president of the Social Democratic Party who owns a hotel in the
town of Brig, believes ski resorts should reprice themselves in
a manner similar to low-cost airlines.
He has suggested a system where lift tickets are
priced fluidly, so that weekday skiers would pay less than weekend
or high season skiers.
Another key area identified is the reduction
of funding for school ski camps. Up to 80 per cent of 14-year-olds
living in urban areas have never skied.
Ideas suggested to address this include free
lift passes for under-12s, targeting immigrant families and spreading
out the half-term winter break over three months instead of just
one week.
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