Switzerland’s Rise From Tourism Doldrums

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland —  The ringing of cash registers cuts through the clear mountain air as the jet set soaks up the “champagne climate” of St. Moritz.

Just like its more down-to-earth Swiss counterparts, St. Moritz, the Alpine resort for the “beautiful people,” is having a beautiful year.

After spending much of the decade in the doldrums, Switzerland’s tourism business is looking up thanks to a combination of good weather, a weaker Swiss franc and better marketing.

Hotel stays during the winter season were about 6% higher than a year earlier as a result of a big jump in the number of foreign tourists. Ski resorts like St. Moritz and Zermatt enjoyed a jump in business of 15% to 20%.

That is good news for the sluggish economy, where 300,000 jobs--one in every 11--are connected to tourism. Foreign visitors spent nearly $8 billion in Switzerland last year, up 5% from 1996.

After the strength of the January-March period, hopes are high for a good summer season too, with a surge of visitors from the United States, Britain and Italy expected to offset the slump in tourists from cash-strapped Asian countries.

While the country’s well-known resorts are established on the international map, the national tourist board, Swiss Tourism, is concentrating on attracting people on a tighter budget to lesser-known parts.

“We want to get rid of the idea that Switzerland is expensive,” says Susanne Rieder, a board official. “We don’t want to become a cheap destination but a value-for-money one.”

The strategy, which is especially aimed at families, seems to be working. Rieder says Swiss Tourism has signed deals with nearly 100 tour operators in 13 countries and as a result expects an additional 200,000 hotel bookings this year.

For instance, American tourists can buy a package deal for $1,158 that includes air fare from New York, six nights at a choice of 150 hotels, and one week’s car rental or a Swiss rail pass.

Such prices were unheard of a few years ago, when hoteliers looked down on budget travelers.

“The years of poor business made people realize they had to make an effort,” says Rieder.

The main exception to the general cheer is the picture-postcard town of Lucerne, Switzerland’s nearest equivalent to a mass tourism mecca, with stereotyped attractions like Heidi shows, Alpine horn playing and yodeling.

The city relies on Japanese, South Koreans and Thai visitors for about 30% of its tourism business and expects a 10% fall in both numbers of visitors and spending this year because of the Asian economic slump.