TourismAbove-average price increases for leisure activities
SDA
23.1.2025 - 07:47
General inflation and dynamic pricing systems have caused prices for mountain railroads and ski lifts to rise noticeably. (archive picture)
Keystone
The Swiss had to pay more for leisure activities in December. Prices for vacation apartments, package tours and mountain railroads in particular rose significantly.
Keystone-SDA
23.01.2025, 07:47
SDA
Overall, according to the Comparis Leisure Price Index, prices for leisure goods in Switzerland rose by 0.9% in December 2024 compared to the same month last year, as shown by an analysis published on Thursday by the comparison service Comparis.
Meanwhile, the official annual inflation rate according to the national consumer price index was 0.6%. The leisure index shows how inflation has developed in the areas of leisure and culture as well as gastronomy and travel.
Expensive ski vacations
Winter vacations in particular have become more expensive. The price of parahotel offers, which include vacation apartments and other alternative forms of accommodation, rose by 4.5 percent within a year. Vacation apartments & co. are also significantly more expensive in the long term, namely 17.7 percent compared to 2019. This is particularly the case in the mountain regions.
Tickets for mountain railroads and ski lifts have risen by 3.3 percent across Switzerland and are 10 percent more expensive than five years ago. This is mainly due to inflation and the dynamic price systems, says Comparis expert Adi Kolecic. The latter ensure that tariffs vary depending on demand, time of booking and weather. This leads to significantly higher costs, especially at peak times.
In contrast, prices for flight tickets have fallen, albeit from a high level. In December, consumers paid 4.6 percent less for air travel than in the same month last year. In a five-year comparison, however, air fares have still risen by a good third. While high demand and low supply drove prices up in 2023, the capacity bottlenecks were largely eliminated last year, according to Kolecic.