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Verbier, as attractive as ever
4 questions for Simon Wiget, Director of Verbier Tourisme
After the snowflakes, but before the champagne corks, it’s been raining awards on Verbier. Voted “2022 World’s Best Ski Resort” at the World Ski Awards for the second year in a row, and “Best Swiss Ski Resort” for the fourth time in five years, the Valais ski station is gradually carving its name in the history books!
Verbier once again won the “World’s Best Ski Resort” award- how does that make you feel?
This award is a reflection of all the hard, high-quality work that’s been put in by all of the resort’s key stakeholders. It’s a recognition of Verbier’s attractiveness in regards to its numerous sporting, cultural and social offerings.
How did Verbier overcome the challenges presented last year by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Even though COVID-19 had an impact on our safety and health regulations, Verbier also benefitted from people wanting to enjoy wide open spaces and their need to be outside, in the mountains, and free. The ski resort set new records in terms of overnight stays and the number of people using the slopes. The fact that we had a sunny January, combined with the fact that people couldn’t travel internationally because of the pandemic, meant Verbier did very well.
What do you expect for this coming season?
We’re asking ourselves a lot of questions about potential energy shortages, and as a result, the station and many of its establishments have put quite a few measures in place to reduce our energy dependence and be more eco-friendly. That’s becoming increasingly important to our clientele. Additionally, we noticed that people are making more last-minute reservations, a trend that was accelerated by the pandemic. All that said, we know that our high-end clients are still as interested as ever in the high quality of the resort’s establishments, and we don’t expect that to change this winter.
What strategy have you put in place to attract clients this winter?
We are very lucky that we have loyal clients here in Verbier who really appreciate the plethora of activities available in the ski resort. Freeride by day, gala by night - here, everything is possible. Our new quirky and fun campaign “Destination of Contrasts,” shows Verbier in a new light, highlighting its wide range of activities and making the ski resort more attractive than ever.
