Rush of visitors to the Stoos "There are concerns", but restricting access? "Not an issue"
According to a blue News reader, Stoos is set to be busier than ever this summer. Those responsible have initiated a visitor management system. Would there even need to be a restriction? That is not an issue.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A blue News reader thinks that Stoos is being overrun this summer.
- According to the municipality of Morschach and Stoosbahnen, there have not been any more guests overall this season than last year.
- However, due to the poor start to the summer, there has been an uneven distribution of guests over the months.
- "This uneven distribution may have created the impression that more visitors came to Stoos overall."
Keyword overtourism. It's not just the residents of popular vacation destinations such as Mallorca or Rome that are struggling with this problem, but also many places in Switzerland.
As one reader tells us, Stoos is said to be more crowded this year than ever before. The woman from Zurich, who has owned a vacation home in the Schwyz recreation area since 2007, tells blue News: "There has been a real rush in recent years, with people coming from all over the world."
The rush is not quite as bad as at Aescher, but it is heading in that direction. "The many visitors are certainly great for Stoos itself, they certainly bring in huge amounts of revenue, but the place itself loses a lot of its authenticity as a result," says the reader.
The main attractions of the region are the Stoosbahn - the steepest funicular railroad in the world - and the ridge walk. The fact that these two highlights attract so many people would lead to "an increase in turnover in various sectors", as a spokeswoman for the municipality of Morschach wrote in response to a blue News inquiry.
However, it would also enrich village life and contribute to a more cosmopolitan community. "On the other hand, there are also concerns about the strain on the local infrastructure," the spokesperson adds.
No more guests this summer than last summer
According to the Stoos-Muota Valley Tourism annual report, more day tourists traveled to Stoos in 2023. Compared to the previous year, this was 13.4 percent more. While 566,233 day visitors were recorded in 2022, this figure rose to 642,155 in the following year.
According to Sandro Widmer, Head of Marketing and Sales at Stoosbahnen AG, it is nothing out of the ordinary that there are so many guests on Stoos on certain days. At the request of blue News, Widmer writes: "We had bad weather for a large part of this summer. So it's normal that on the few days that are nice, many more guests visit us than usual."
Overall, however, the region had fewer guests this summer than last year, according to the spokesperson for Stoosbahnen AG.
Uneven distribution of guests over the months
The municipality of Morschach also points to the poor weather at the beginning of the summer. "Due to the poor start to the summer - May and June were very rainy - fewer guests were recorded on Stoos compared to the previous year," explains the spokesperson.
However, the period from July to August was busier than the previous year, which was probably due to the better weather. "The uneven distribution of guests over the months of May to August may have given the impression that more visitors came to Stoos overall."
Does the local population mind the rush of visitors? "The assessment of the number of guests can vary depending on the person and their perspective," says the municipality's spokesperson.
In general, tourism is appreciated by local residents, especially because of the economic benefits it brings. "It creates jobs, supports local stores and restaurants and contributes to the expansion of amenities such as playgrounds and barbecue areas."
"Guests spread out along the many hiking trails"
However, because an increased number of guests can lead to overcrowded public areas, Stoos-Muotatal Tourismus, together with the municipality of Morschach and Stoosbahnen AG, has launched a visitor management system, which was implemented for the first time last summer.
"The aim of this measure is to direct the flow of visitors in a targeted manner and to show guests that there are other beautiful places in the region," writes the municipality of Morschach.
However, in the eyes of Sandro Widmer from Stoosbahnen AG, stricter measures, such as restricting daily access to Stoos, are not necessary and "not an issue". Widmer assesses the situation: "The guests are spread over the more than 340 kilometers of hiking trails on Stoos."
Social media turns breathtaking places into hotspots worldwide
The municipality of Morschach lists the two most popular highlights in the region: The steepest funicular in the world and the ridge walk with its breathtaking panorama would attract a particularly large number of visitors. There are now around 60,000 posts on Instagram under the hashtag #Stoos.
However, Sandro Widmer believes that social media is only partly to blame for the hype surrounding Stoos. "Because some of the spots on Stoos are so beautiful that guests want to show them to their followers, such great pictures end up on social media." In his opinion, breathtaking places around the world are generally being transformed into hotspots - and that doesn't just apply to Stoos.
