2 destinations already acquired American giant wants to buy Laax ski resort
The company Vail Resorts is said to be interested in buying the Flims Laax Falera ski resort. The US ski giant has already bought Crans Montana and Andermatt as well as several winter destinations in Austria.
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- The US company Vail Resorts, which owns 42 ski resorts worldwide, is said to be interested in buying the Flims Laax Falera ski resort.
- Vail Resorts has already acquired the mountain railroads in Crans Montana and Andermatt.
- Neither Vail Resorts nor the Weisse Arena Group, which operates and owns the Flims Laax Falera ski area, are commenting on a possible takeover.
Will the Flims-Laax ski area also fall into the hands of the US company Vail Resorts? The ski giant currently owns 42 resorts in North America, Australia and Europe. In Switzerland, Crans Montana and Andermatt have become locations of the ski resort chain.
Several insiders are said to have confirmed to "Blick" that the Weisse Arena, as the Flims Laax Falera ski resort is also known, is high on the Americans' wish list.
Over the past decades, the Weisse Arena has repeatedly led the way with innovations, focusing on snowboarders early on and setting trends with its offers. It was also one of the first to sell day tickets at dynamic prices - the bigger the crowds, the more expensive the lift passes.
Is the visionary selling his life's work?
Vail Resorts has five to six resorts in Switzerland and Austria in mind, says Pierre Besson in Blick. He is the head of the Magic Mountains Cooperation, which sells the Magic Pass, a season ticket valid in 80 Swiss ski resorts.
The big brother of the Magic Pass, so to speak, is the Epic Pass issued by Vail Resorts. This entitles the holder to use the lifts in all of the group's ski resorts. Andermatt and Crans Montana are currently the only European destinations in the portfolio. This is apparently set to change soon.
Neither Vail Resorts nor Weisse Arena are commenting on their plans. Reto Gurtner, the usually very approachable head of Weisse Arena, is also not answering any questions from Blick. His father turned a ski lift into the Laax mountain railroads, which he expanded with those in Flims and Falera to form the Weisse Arena.
The attractiveness of the ski resort in the Surselva region of Graubünden apparently also appeals to the US investor. Gurtner studied business administration in the USA and brought his love of skateboarding with him from there in the 1980s. In his long career, the 69-year-old has repeatedly surprised the public and the business world with entrepreneurial moves.
Selling his life's work overseas would be a spectacular coup. Anyone who knows Reto Gurtner can hardly imagine that it would be his last.
