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Lauterbrunnen like Venice? Faced with an ever-increasing influx of visitors that puts the desire to be hospitable to the test, the Bernese Oberland region is considering introducing a tax for incoming tourists.
The municipality of around 2500 inhabitants – an entire valley with breathtaking landscapes, today celebrated on Instagram, which already in 1911 would have impressed and inspired the then 19-year-old John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the author of «The Lord of the Rings» – has established a working group to deal with mass arrivals that generate increasingly serious problems, Der Bund reports today.
Mayor Karl Näpflin is also aiming for an information app for smartphones. “It’s a pass for the valley that tourists have to download,” explains the politician in statements reported by the newspaper. It could include a drastic measure: anyone arriving by car will in future be required to pay an entrance fee of between 5 and 10 francs. “Guests who have booked an offer, such as a hotel or an excursion, or who are traveling by public transport will be exempt,” adds the interested party.
Random checks would then be carried out on site. According to Näpflin, however, it is unlikely that the new regime will be applied in Lauterbrunnen as early as this summer: further clarifications are still needed. However, this will not solve the root problem. “We must be honest: 90% of the measures are just alleviation of symptoms,” observes the mayor.
“The acceptance of the tourism sector should be maintained throughout Switzerland,” comments Monika Bandi Tanner, director of the Tourism Research Center at the University of Bern, in her turn statements to Der Bund. In her opinion there is no doubt that the number of guests from distant markets will continue to grow in the future. “As long as prosperity in the world increases, the number of tourists will also grow.”
Alps even more attractive in summer with climate changes
Furthermore, climate change should make the Alps even more attractive in summer in the future, the expert argues. In the long term the season could last until October or even November. «On the Central Plateau, however, over 40 hot days or 50 tropical nights will probably be the norm in the future». Rivers and lakes will play an increasingly important role in all regions.
The debate is now launched throughout the canton: in 2023 the city of Bern recorded a record number of 1 million overnight stays, the area of Interlaken (BE) even 2 million, compared to around 20,000 inhabitants. Critical voices have been raised by those who complain that the extension of the season is increasing tiredness among the population, as the recovery phases are missing.
Complaints on the rise
And according to the newspaper, complaints are on the rise, for example on social media, in the wake of the negative effects of so-called overtourism, be it skyrocketing house and apartment prices, suffocating traffic or overflowing rubbish bins. .
Despite this, many tourism professionals want to continue operating as before. Among these is Jungfraubahnen, the publicly traded ski lift group that is planning several large projects, targeting growth in attendance. In particular, the company is toying with the idea of bringing back Chinese tourists, who are currently still fewer in number than in 2019 pre-pandemic.
The city of Bern, however, is pursuing a completely different strategy from that of many destinations in the Bernese Oberland: it has long focused on the Swiss national market and neighboring ones such as Germany, Italy and France. This approach has already attracted criticism from some hoteliers, who fear that it is not possible to give up distant markets.
The direction in which Bernese tourism will move therefore still appears to be open. But the latest idea is to attract even more guests: a study has been launched to examine the feasibility of a panoramic cable car between Adelboden-Lenk and Crans-Montana, i.e. between the two tourist regions of the Bernese Oberland and Valais. The Swiss Foundation for Landscape Protection is against it, it is now a question of knowing what the population wants, concludes Der Bund.
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