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Keystone-SDA | Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Not mega destinations, but still important: Flumserberg, Pizol and Lake Walen allow Sarganserland to benefit from tourism. (Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller)
An alleged quote from the St. Gallen government councillor Beat Tinner (FDP) has prompted, among others, Bad Ragazer Mitte cantonal councillor Daniel Grünenfelder to make a proposal. The question is how important tourism is for the canton of St. Gallen and whether cuts in funding are planned.
“The money for tourism is of no use anyway.” This sentence is attributed to government councillor Beat Tinner (FDP), according to a motion by two cantonal councillors from the centre in early June. They want to know from the government what prompted the head of the Department of Economic Affairs to make such statements.
The government’s response does not explicitly deny the statement. Tinner’s statements were aimed at ensuring that funds were used carefully and directing investments into sectors “that promise higher direct and indirect added value,” the response states.
In the motion, Daniel Grünenfelder (Bad Ragaz) and Boris Tschirky wanted to know whether the funds for tourism would be cut. The government should also explain the importance of tourism for the canton. They were asked about a comparison of the added value with other cantons.
No tourism canton
“No,” the government answered the question about cuts. However, it reserves the right to “regularly review” the targeted use of cantonal funds in the area of tourism promotion.
When comparing gross value added, St. Gallen falls behind. The economic importance of tourism is “rather low in absolute terms” compared to classic tourism cantons, wrote the government. The value in 2021 was 1.8 percent of gross domestic product. The Swiss average is 2.1 percent.
The proportion of people employed in tourism is 3.0 percent in the canton, compared to 3.8 percent in Switzerland as a whole. The government explained that the figures for St. Gallen could be compared with those for Zurich. There, the added value from tourism is 1.6 percent, and the proportion of employment is 3.2 percent.
The actual tourism cantons, however, record completely different figures: In Graubünden, 14.8 percent of employees work in tourism and the added value is 9.4 percent.
