Swiss ski resorts gear up for Christmas

Skiers and snowboarders are already hitting the pistes Keystone

Swiss ski resorts say most of their hotel rooms are already booked up for the duration of the Christmas and New Year holiday.

Tourist offices are reporting only limited availability, as skiers take advantage of recent snowfalls to plan a trip into the mountains.

The winter season got off to a less than auspicious start at the beginning of December, with many resorts reporting little or no snow.

But after days of clear skies, snow finally fell across the Swiss Alps over the weekend.

Ski resorts at altitudes of under 1,500 metres reported on Monday that they now had sufficient snow and were ready to welcome guests during the holiday period.

Forecasters are predicting that more snow is likely to fall in the mountains before the end of the week.

Many resorts and cable-car operators say that at least some of their pistes are open for business.

Happy hoteliers

“Hoteliers are happy with the number of bookings they’ve taken,” said Grindelwald Tourism spokeswoman Doris Scholl.

According to Scholl, nearly all holiday homes in the region are fully booked during the final week of the year. In many hotels, up to 95 per cent of rooms have been reserved for the duration of the festive period.

Tourism officials say ski resorts in the Bernese Oberland are relying more on Swiss guests this winter than on visitors from abroad.

But they caution that the 2004 holiday period is unlikely to be a record-breaking start to the winter season.

The fact that the Christmas and New Year public holidays both fall on weekends this year has discouraged some skiers from booking a lengthy winter break.

“People don’t have as much time off, which is always a disadvantage for places that rely on tourism,” said Eduardo Zwyssig from Gstaad Tourism.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Hotels in Swiss ski resorts are reporting only limited availability for the festive period.

Last weekend saw the first major snowfall of the winter season.

Forecasters predict that more snow will fall in the mountains before the end of the week.