Zermatt Magazin 2015

Hotellerie Zermatt | Zermatt Magazin 41
The available mountain guides sat
on benches in what today is called
Kirchplatz, where they were procured
for guests by hotel managers
or the head concierge. Some
guests were even carried up high
to outlooks in palanquins or litters.
Things grew more convenient
in 1898 when the Gornergrat
cogwheel train was opened for excursions
in the mountain world.
Ladies took walks in the village, sat
down for tea and cakes in the hotel
garden or used the various salons
for reading, card playing and conversation.
Most guests returned to
the hotel for lunch to enjoy a warm
meal. There were no public restaurants
in the mountain areas in
those days.
Surely many tourists regularly visited
the holiday destination Zermatt?
Many guests visited Zermatt at
least once a year. They brought
their children, who in turn later became
frequent guests. In this way,
entire generations remained loyal
to their preferred hotel, mountain
guide or ski instructor. Personal
friendships developed, even friendships.
And it is still that way to
some degree today.
How important are the British to
the Grand Hotel Zermatterhof today?
Looking back over the past few
years, our hotel had the most English
speaking guests staying the
night in the year 2008. Unfortunately,
the financial crisis really put
a damper on the demand. Today
the Swiss are in first place when it
comes to overnight stays. Interest
from Great Britain and the USA is
meanwhile on the increase.
Are there still active institutions
and clubs in Zermatt today which
were founded by the British?
The English Church, which was
financed through donations, was
completed in 1871 and has been restored
several times since. During
the high season, Anglican services
are still celebrated by priests from
the Intercontinental Church Society.
In the winter of 1932/33, British
guests founded the Curling Club
Zermatt, which remains active today
and still organizes the Scottish
«Skiing became fashionable
here in the 1920s.»
Curling Week in the second half of
each January. Around 30 athletes
from Scotland arrive each year for
this event. The mountain climber’s
cemetery below the parish church
and the Matterhorn Museum (formerly
the Alpines Museum), directly
adjacent to our hotel, both have
connections to English alpinists.
Switzerland Tourism is
promoting the “150 Years of Winter
Tourism” anniversary.
Skiing only really became fashionable
here in the 1920s. That is because
Zermatt was hardly accessible
during the winter months. The
Visp-Zermatt Railway launched
its all-year operation first in 1933.
The Gornergrat Railway initially
brought skiers to the Riffelalp starting
1928/29. The first winter season
in Zermatt was in 1928. Prior to
this the hotels were closed during
the winter. Ski schools were also
founded around this time. More
winter than summer guests travelled
to Zermatt already by 1944.
Since then, the British and Americans
have been primarily interested
in winter sports.
How many of your guests
are British today?
If you take a look at the overnight
stays statics for 2013, then hotel
guests from the United Kingdom in
the summer months were in fifth
place with a 5.7% share. In winter,
the British made it to third place
with a 9.1% share. If you take the
overall hotelier figures for summer
and winter accommodations, then
the British make up a 7.4% share
and claim 3rd place after Switzerland
and Germany.
Certainly some British also settled
down in Zermatt?
The population statistics of 2010
show that out a total permanent
population of 5,660 people, 91 have
settled here from Great Britain.
Very many luxurious chalets and
apartments have been built in
Zermatt in the past ten years.
These high-value accommodations
have become serious competition
for the five-star hotels. We are reacting
to this development with innovative
service offerings and hope to
welcome these guests at least with a
luxurious dinner in the restaurant.
The field has grown more challenging,
even in a top holiday destination
like Zermatt. That is why I
hope that the general conditions for
tourism will improve. Further rules
and regulations that would hinder
this further development must be
avoided.
zm
Alpinism pioneers
From 1813 to 1901, all 31 four
thousand meter peaks in the
Inner Nikolai Valley (St. Niklaus
to Zermatt) were conquered.
Between 1792 and 1930, courageous
alpinists accomplished
323 first ascents and the development
of new routes to 60 peaks
along with various first crossing
of passes and gorges. A total of
206 of these successful accomplishments,
or 63.7 percent, are
attributable to English guests. We
also have the British to thank for a
rich collection of alpinist writings.