By comparing the prices of fourteen ski areas for the week of February 22 to 29, i.e. eight days and seven nights, reservations made in mid-December, Banque Cler and the BAK Economics institute come to the conclusion that holidays at the snow will cost “on average 6% more in 2020” than in 2019.
The calculation was made for three types of vacationers, each with their needs, their budgets and their specifics, that is to say a well-off couple staying in a 4-star hotel, three students in shared accommodation, and a family with two children in an apartment. We have chosen to represent the distribution of costs for this last group, the most representative for this period of relaxation.
The window chosen may be narrow, but it is nonetheless significant. Thus, despite the proliferation of advantageous annual packages (of the Magic Pass type) and the introduction of dynamic pricing for short stays, Switzerland sometimes remains less attractive than Austria for a snow holiday, and even than Dubai for a relaxing in the sun, or even New York for a more cultural break, concludes the report in substance.
Everything depends of course on the personal needs of each individual, but there remains, explains Natalie Waltmann, head of communications at Banque Cler, “that Switzerland is under pressure from competing offers from abroad. And at the same time, despite the dynamic prices, the price level of ski passes increased by 5% from 2019 to 2020 ”.
Comparable lifts to neighboring countries
“Regarding the price of the packages, it can still be said that the selected Swiss domains are quite comparable with their equivalents in Austria, France and Italy, says Roland Schegg, professor at the Haute École de gestion et HES-SO Valais tourism. So I think that the high cost of ski holidays is mainly linked to the higher price of other services. “
And indeed, according to the study, the two main causes of the increase in prices are to be found in accommodation and ski schools. On this last point, the study shows an overall increase of 14.3%, with strong variations according to the stations. In Verbier, prices climbed 2.11% on certain products.
“Since the last increases were applied three seasons ago, we wanted to align our prices with the reality of the rest of the market on Verbier,” said the side of the Swiss Ski School. “The same offer costs in all regions more than at the start of 2019,” adds Natalie Waltmann. In the ski areas studied, overnight stays in apartments or hotels took the lift (+ 6.8%), following on from 2017 (+ 3%) and 2018 (+ 4%).
“But providers like Airbnb can distort prices, either up or down,” says Natalie Waltmann. Note that apartment rentals are as much via Airbnb as through Interhome-type agencies.
Night prices down over 10 years
For Switzerland Tourism, this study should be balanced. “It all depends on who goes where, a wealthy couple will not choose the same destination as families,” said spokeswoman Véronique Kanel. The more demand there is for higher quality hotels, in Verbier Gstaad or Zermatt, the more prices will tend to appreciate.
“In general, smoothed over the whole year, the Federal Statistical Office demonstrated last February that accommodation prices were in 2018 about 5% below the level of 2010”, underlines- she. Switzerland Tourism also points out that there are a number of very attractive offers for families (See box).
Created: 28.12.2019, 22:39
–
