Why cheating is sometimes worth it

At the end of January, the consumer programme “Kassensturz” on Swiss television discussed the winter holiday prices in Switzerland and Austria. The bone of contention was the fact that many Swiss families no longer spend their winter holidays in Switzerland, but in Austria, for example, because everything is “much” cheaper there. Based on various parameters, a direct comparison was made between the ski resorts Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland and Serfaus Fiss Ladis in Tyrol.

Well, as diligent readers of my blog know, I have already visited some winter sports resorts this winter and among them I got my first “foreign skiing experiences”. For this reason, I now take the liberty of sharing some of my own thoughts on this topic and of course look forward to hearing all your opinions on this topic. I’m also curious who can tell me the respective ski destinations in the following pictures :-). Purely on the basis of the panorama, I don’t think there are any significant differences between Switzerland and Austria…

Infrastructure
It is not only in Tyrol that there are chairlifts with wind protection hoods and warm seats. Adelboden in particular has an equally great, modern infrastructure. Why the only chairlift without a windshield is shown in the film shows how well you can use images according to your own sense. However, there are still differences in infrastructure, not so much between Switzerland and Austria, but rather between the individual Swiss ski resorts. Les Portes du Soleil, which is a really great, huge ski area, still has many older chairlifts with little comfort, but skiing there is still fun. After my trip to Austria, I am of the opinion that there is no reason to go to Austria purely because of better infrastructure.

Accommodation
Yes Swiss hotels are more expensive, especially in high season. For this reason, I never spent my ski holidays in a hotel (really not once), but always in holiday apartments. This has the disadvantage that you often don’t enjoy all the comforts of a hotel (e.g. the great breakfast buffets and the wellness area), but the ski holidays remain in my memories as a unique and special family experience. However, I am of the opinion that Swiss hotel businesses can certainly take the innovative and versatile Austrian businesses as a model in order to be more competitive in the future. In addition, I can also understand that people go abroad for their ski holidays. I mean, who really has the feeling of being on holiday when you do exactly the same things in a holiday apartment 50 kilometres away from your village/town as you do at home – namely cooking and washing up. For me, the term “holiday” is basically associated with “going abroad”, so skiing holidays abroad are, psychologically speaking, more exciting.

Essen
: Yes, Switzerland could take some cue from Austria here as well. In the Axamer Lizum I had a cheese dumpling soup for 3.60 euros and in Champéry I paid 20 CHF for a cheese slice. Both typical meals and yet a significant price difference. In my opinion, lunch at a restaurant during a Swiss ski holiday is the most budgetary.

Humanity
It is mentioned several times in the film that hospitality is one of the main reasons why people decide against Switzerland and in favor of Austria. Well, even in Austria the skis were not carried into the gondola and I could not notice a significant difference in friendliness during my one-time visit. Nevertheless, it was only recently that I became aware again of how important and formative customer friendliness is. My experience with the unfriendly ski rental company (who must have just had a bad day) had a negative effect on the perception of the Flims/Laax ski area. The Swiss should simply be aware that nowadays you have to “fight” for guests and therefore the entire appearance of a ski resort is important.

To all those who have only had skiing experience in Switzerland so far, I recommend to definitely “go abroad” so that you don’t constantly think “everything is better in Austria”, but also experience it actively. My personal conclusion, however, is that you don’t necessarily have to go abroad for a good skiing experience, but you will find an equally great and varied offer in Switzerland. With the following savings tips, “holidays” in the high-price country of Switzerland will also be a success:

• Stay in a bed and breakfast, usually a great and inexpensive alternative to a hotel visit
• Bring drinks and snacks in your backpack. In contrast to other countries, Swiss ski resorts have a great selection of warm picnic areas.
• Take advantage of the SnownRail offers to get cheaper day or two-day tickets.