(Corrected to clarify the remarks by an officer in paragraph 23)
By Olivia Le Poidevin
VERBIER, Switzerland, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A New Year’s Eve fire that killed 40 people at a Swiss ski resort bar has shaken a lucrative tourism industry that has long had an impeccable reputation and put pressure on the country to tighten safety standards.
The news that the bar “Le Constellation”, in the town of Crans-Montana in Canton Valais, has been without security control for six years quickly encouraged officials to prohibit some practices, including the use of sparkling candles blamed for the tragedy.
The stain on Switzerland’s once-exemplary safety record was quickly felt as local hoteliers reported canceled bookings in a canton where the cost of real estate in resorts such as nearby Verbier can fetch prices on a par with Hong Kong.
“There were cancellations, there were postponements of reservations for later dates in the hotels,” said Bruno Huggler, director of the tourism office of Crans-Montana, after the fire that killed mostly teenagers and injured more than 100 people.
The owners of Le Constellation Jacques Moretti and his wife are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes.
The disaster has sparked a fragile political debate about safety, including calls for harmonized national standards in a country that prizes local autonomy.
It also raised an alarm in Verbier’s hospitality sector.
FEAR OF BUSINESS
“We realize that this could very well happen here,” said Lionel Dubois, head of the Association of Hoteliers, Café Owners and Restaurateurs of Verbier. “That, I think, is a bit scary.”
Tourism in Switzerland was worth about $22.17 billion, or 3% of national output in 2021, official data showed.
While bookings in about 1,300 hotel rooms of Crans-Montana have suffered, the general picture is stable, since the rentals of chalets and apartments cover most stays, said tourism boss Huggler.
Young people have stirred, however, and while some restaurants are coming back to life, bars remain quieter, said Cedric Berger, head of the Crans-Montana Upper Plateau Apartment and Chalet Owners Association.
Some local accommodation providers have seen cancellations in short-term vacation rentals.
“January is a month you forget, a month lost for everyone,” said Berger.
The survivors of the fire, which also killed French and Italian citizens, are still hospitalized across Europe.
Crans-Montana apartment owners from Italy and France are angry, said Berger, who is also a lawyer.
“People go to the Valais not because it is the “best party”, but because it is Switzerland, and you think it is safe. If that quality disappears, then the “fortress” of Switzerland will be shaken a bit,” he added.
The anxiety about the consequences is palpable in Verbier, where Reuters contacted 37 places of hospitality.
Many refused to speak or did not answer, although the 12 who did said that the checks were done properly. But they all agreed that the rules should be reinforced to guarantee regular inspections, limit numbers in places and provide fire safety training to staff.
In four of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, including Valais, building insurance is not compulsory – potentially increasing the risks for owners affected by fires, as well as weakening controls.
The Swiss Insurance Association said that more than 90% of buildings in Switzerland are insured according to market estimates, adding that it does not keep precise figures on how many are not. Reuters could not establish whether Le Constellation had insurance on the building.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
The fire generated the biggest media storm around Switzerland since the collapse of the Credit Suisse bank in 2023, said Alexandre Edelmann, head of Presence Switzerland, the foreign ministry unit that promotes the country’s image abroad.
As media reports about Switzerland jumped to 25 times more than the average in early January, a crisis room was established to support people abroad after the fire, Edelmann said.
Lawmaker Jacqueline de Quattro, head of the lower house of parliament’s security committee, said the fire exposed potential weaknesses in Switzerland’s federal system, which allows cantons to set their own rules.
“We believed that we had strict rules and that Switzerland was well prepared,” said de Quattro. “But then we were brutally confronted with reality.”
Proposing a national review to harmonize standards backed by an events industry group, she expressed concern about event professionals’ reports of sloppy work stemming from inadequate training, cost pressures and irregular inspections.
But the head of Verbier’s Val de Bagnes municipality, Fabien Sauthier, said inspections required resources and that, while regular checks were carried out, it was difficult to inspect around 400 public buildings each year with only four full-time security officers.
And any push toward greater federal oversight could face resistance.
“I am a Swiss person, so I think the canton should decide what it wants to do,” said Willy Schranz, head of the municipal council in Adelboden in Canton Bern. “If you take responsibility, then it’s a very good system.”
($1 = 0.7667 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin Editing by Dave Graham and Gareth Jones)