Ice hockey World Cup cushions Zurich hotel losses due to Middle East conflict
Keystone-SDA
The Ice Hockey World Championships taking place in Zurich and Fribourg in May are helping Zurich hotels to cushion the loss of overnight stays caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Hotels near the stadiums and in the city centre are benefiting in particular, but there is no effect on the region as a whole.
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Hotels in the immediate vicinity of the ice hockey stadium in Zurich are experiencing a positive effect on their occupancy rates around the tournament, Thomas Wüthrich, director of Zurich Tourism, told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. Various city hotels in Zurich’s city centre also reported “solid demand”.
According to Wüthrich, hotels outside the city centre are hardly feeling the effects of the tournament. There is no effect on the surrounding regions.
At the same time, hotels are feeling the ongoing decline in demand as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. The ice hockey tournament should help to achieve the previous year’s figures. However, Wüthrich considers it “unlikely” that they will be surpassed due to the geopolitical situation and the associated weaker overall demand.
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Zurich Tourism is playing a supporting role in the Ice Hockey World Championships, Wüthrich explains. Among other things, the focus is on coordination with partners from the hotel and catering industry and on creating “optimal conditions” for teams and guests.
Preparations are in full swing and the organisers of the Ice Hockey World Championships feel they are on course, the “Regionaljournal Zürich-Schaffhausen” reported on Radio SRF1. However, Christian Hofstetter, head of the organising committee for the Ice Hockey World Championships, emphasised the “huge dimensions” of the event: space around the stadiums is tight, which is why they are trying to “make optimum use of every square metre”.
A key aspect is safety, which is the top priority for visitors and teams. According to Hofstetter, the security concept could not simply be “pulled out of the drawer”; it had to be adapted to the changed world situation. However, there are currently no indications of an increased threat.
Second attempt
The Ice Hockey World Championship should have been held in Switzerland in 2020 but was cancelled owing to the Covid pandemic. Switzerland was awarded the tournament again for 2026. This will be the first time since 2009 (when Bern and Kloten were the venues) that the World Championship finals will be held on Swiss ice.
The tournament will be held in Zurich and Fribourg. A third of the games will take place in Fribourg, two-thirds in Zurich. The tournament begins on May 15 in Zurich with the match between Finland and Germany. The final will take place on Sunday, May 31, also in Zurich.
Adapted from German by AI/ts
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