Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss tourist hotspot Zermatt considers day tripper fees

Tourists take in a view of the Matterhorn in Switzerland
Tourists take in a view of the Matterhorn in Switzerland Keystone

The large number of day trippers is causing problems for the Swiss tourism hotspot of Zermatt, which lies in the shadow of the iconic Matterhorn mountain. Now the idea of ​​a tourist levy is being floated.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

There are places that are literally overrun by day visitors. A prime example is Venice. This year, the Italian city responded to this by charging day visitors a fee. Over a period of several weeks, they had to pay €5 for entry at certain times.

+ Swiss village mulls Venice-style tourist tax

Such a fee is currently also on the table in Zermatt, research by Swiss public broadcaster SRF has uncovered.

Green Label project

Last spring, members of the local council and tourism bosses met at a workshop to discuss a tax for day trippers. This means that those guests who do not bring in any income for the hotels and holiday apartments will be asked to pay. The goal is to get guests to stay longer.

+ Mass tourism: “We feel like employees in a theme park”

The idea is that anyone who visits Zermatt for the day would have to pay CHF12, which amounts to the regular tourist tax for guests who stay in Zermatt for three days.

Payment would be made via an app and the proceeds would go to the municipality’s sustainability fund. The project has been called “Green Label” because people who are only in Zermatt for one day would finance sustainable projects, according to the workshop’s documents.

More

Debate
Hosted by: Veronica DeVore

Have you encountered “overtourism”? How should popular destinations deal with it?

Places like Venice or Barcelona, and destinations in the Swiss Alps, are struggling with an influx of tourists. What to do?

6 Likes
70 Comments
View the discussion

Nothing decided yet

There would be exceptions for delivery workers and tradespeople. People who visit someone in Zermatt would also not have to pay anything.

The main reason for the discussion about the fee is the dissatisfaction of the locals, say those involved. For some, the large number of guests is becoming more and more of a burden.

Nothing has yet been decided, but the discussion is ongoing, as several people with knowledge of the matter confirmed to SRF. No-one wanted to comment on how far it has progressed. The spokesperson for Zermatt Tourism simply said that measures are constantly being reviewed. Some are pursued, others not.

However, SRF research shows that the imposition of such a fee is currently being legally clarified.

More

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

US opinion polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump virtually even ahead of the November 5 election.

More

Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

This content was published on Around a quarter of Swiss citizens would vote for Donald Trump if they had the chance, according to a recent poll. This percentage is higher than in many other European countries.

Read more: Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland
Property prices continue to rise

More

Swiss property prices continue to rise

This content was published on Prices of owner-occupied homes rose in the third quarter of 2024 by 0.5%, with inflation affecting both apartments and single-family houses, says the Federal Statistical Office.

Read more: Swiss property prices continue to rise

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR