Winter tourism is now a multi-billion dollar industry around the world. Thirty million people visit the Alps alone every year, spending 545 million nights in 4.5 million tourist beds and 9.9 million beds in second residences. This enormous global industry began 150 years ago in a little village in the Alps in Switzerland called St. Moritz. It received visitors in the summer who wanted to use its mineral springs. At that time, the village had just 75 hotel beds. Today, St. Moritz has eight five-star hotels and the town is synonymous with luxury.
English Tourists
In September 1864, a group of rich English tourists were spending their last night in the Engadiner Kulm Hotel in St. Moritz. They were sad, thinking about returning home to a cold, wet England. The hotel owner, Johannes Badrutt, bet them that they would also enjoy spending the winter months in the village, as the temperatures were high enough to “walk without a jacket.” If his promise was false, he said, he would pay for their journey and the hotel. In December, four aristocratic families returned to the village. They stayed until March, walking without jackets. When they returned home, they told all their friends. In just a few years, the Swiss Alps would have more visitors in winter than in summer.
Pioneering Businessman
Badrutt was both a pioneer and a very imaginative businessman. He knew that the British liked betting and competitions. He started a ‘lake run’ for sledges in 1872, a curling competition in 1880 (with stones brought by Scottish visitors), and introduced artistic skating in 1882. The frozen lake was soon used for horse races, ice polo and even cricket tournaments. These activities continue today. Badrutt did not forget his hotel. He installed Switzerland’s first electric lights and flushing toilets. The village also saw the world’s first-ever ski school, as the sport began to grow in popularity. Other villages in the Alps quickly followed Badrutt’s example.
Competitions
St. Moritz soon became the world centre for winter sports competitions. In 1882, it held the first European Ice-Skating Championships. In 1904, international ski jumping arrived. The town was a natural choice for the Winter Olympics (1928 and 1948) and the Alpine World Ski Championships (five times). It also held Europe’s first Snowboarding World Championship in 1987.
Rich and Famous
As skiing became more and more popular in the 1920s and 1930s, St. Moritz became the favourite destination for the rich and famous. Gregory Peck, Errol Flynn and Audrey Hepburn were frequent visitors in Hollywood’s glamour years. Peck and Flynn loved the famous ‘Cresta Run’ for bobsleighs. The resort continued to grow, and it now has 350 kilometres of ski slopes and cross-country skiingtrails, as well as 13,000 tourist beds. To control the exploitation of its name, the town was the first geographical location to register as a trademark in 1986.