Unsurprisingly, the tourism encephalogram has shown virtually no signs of life since March. According to a new estimate released Friday by HES-SO Valais, the shortfall between March and June will be around 8.7 billion francs for the entire industry in Switzerland. In a first study carried out in March, the loss was estimated at 6.4 billion francs.
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Valais hoteliers call the monetary helicopter
No less than 60% of the 3,518 providers who responded to the survey decided to prefer to close their shops until the recovery, while another 22% reduced their activity rate. “A closed hotel hurts.” Christophe Ming has decided to continue operating the Astra Hotel Vevey which he manages with his brother. Demand was weak, despite the quick initiative to make rooms available for telework. “We count requests on the fingers of one hand,” notes the hotelier, who specifies that the goal was not to do business: “Staying open allowed us to be present, to communicate with customers and collaborators. “
A closed hotel hurts – Christophe Ming, hotelier in Vevey
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For example, his establishment welcomed a tourist refugee from Geneva for several weeks. It was impossible for the latter to find accommodation. At the beginning of April, the Geneva hotel association estimated in fact at two thirds the number of establishments closed in the city, a city which achieved 2,182,000 overnight stays in 2019.
