Swiss mountain railways look back on good summer

Swiss mountain railways transported significantly more guests in the 2025 summer season than in the previous year. All regions closed with a plus compared to the previous year.

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Overall, first-time admissions increased by 13% between May and October, as reported by the Swiss Cableways Association on Monday. Compared to the average of the past five years, the figures are even 24% higher – although the two Covid summers with restricted travel also influenced this comparison.

After a very good start to the season in June and a subdued July, the number of guests increased significantly again, especially towards the end of the season. In “golden October” alone, the mountain railways recorded 29% more passengers, the report said. Lifts with a predominantly domestic clientele performed slightly better than those with a predominantly international clientele or a mixed guest segment.

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Regionally, there was a clear increase in all areas over the entire summer season: the Vaud and Fribourg Alps achieved the most significant growth with an increase of 25%, followed by the Bernese Oberland (+20%) and Valais (+15%). Graubünden and Eastern Switzerland both increased by 10%, while Central Switzerland (+9%) and Ticino (+8%) were slightly below average.

“The strong summer season highlights the increasing importance of year-round tourism and the role of mountain railways as attractive leisure partners,” said Berno Stoffel, director of Cableways Switzerland, in the press release.

The industry is optimistic about the coming winter season. As usual, however, success will depend largely on the weather, Stoffel said.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts