When James Bond jump-starts

All beginnings were difficult in 1967: The summit of the 2970 m high Schilthorn had been opened up, but the final construction of the summit restaurant was still missing. There was not (yet) enough money. But then a British film crew found a suitable location there for a new James Bond film and immediately took over the final construction. The rest is known: The 007 adventure "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" became a box-office hit in 1969, the "Piz Gloria" with its filming restaurant a destination with worldwide appeal. And new attractions are being added all the time.

Mr Egger, your company has invested a lot recently. How long are you now equipped for again?
Christoph Egger: This is, of course, a "ne-ver ending story" ... A renewal is never complete. In the last five years, we have not necessarily invested in infrastructure - with the exception of the refurbishment of the "Piz Gloria" revolving restaurant. All the other projects were investments in experiences. Against this background, we have developed from a transport company into an experience company. It is precisely in this area that the renewal in the increase of attractiveness is never finished; every time the guest comes back, he is curious to see what he can experience that is new compared to his last visit.

A beautiful nature alone does not sell today?
Here's the thing. In our industry, we have now moved from a pioneering and growth phase into a mature phase. It takes more than just transport services and the ski slopes and hiking trails. Today, you have to stand out from the competition with other elements. Experiences are one of the most important things in a holiday. After all, people talk about them afterwards and not about the colour of the upholstery in the Postbus.

When it comes to experiences, the Schilthorn is a pioneer, so to speak. What would the Schilthorn be without James Bond?
We would then have been challenged in other ways for 50 years and would have found another good story ... But it was a lucky coincidence that the scout came across the Schilthorn at the end of the 1960s while searching for film locations. It is also fortunate, of course, that the James Bond film series has remained so successful over the decades.

In principle, cinema played the role that social media play today. Pictures of beautiful areas published on Instagram have already had an effect elsewhere.
Indeed. With new attractions and the myriad of photo opportunities and, of course, everything that the movie theme has created, the whole thing lives on. The James Bond community is very large and vibrant and has an exhibitionist style. People visit the film locations, have themselves photographed there, thus showing where they are. That helps us enormously in everyday social media life.

The infrastructure is one thing, the brand and marketing the other. What do tourism professionals in Switzerland have to do today in terms of marketing? Make do instead of spill the beans?
This depends on the initial situation in which the respective company or disti- nation finds itself. We are in the pleasant situation of being integrated in a destination with a high international profile. Not every Swiss region has the potential to go global. With the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, we have a unique selling point in global competition.

But it seems that "pure nature" is no longer enough, and attractions like "skyline walks" and the like are now needed.
You need stories that make this very nature experienceable and sellable. From such "Sky Walks" you see the same mountains, but they are connected with thrill, a special feeling, in short: with an experience that you don't have in another place. I think this is a trend that you can't get around today. The constant internationalisation of the markets has also changed compared to the past: people no longer only talk about Germany, Benelux and perhaps England, but the clientele has become global.

And these are all guests who are looking for exactly this "thrill"? After all, such attractions can also be copied - especially if you think of China, where many destinations are also installed suspension bridges, vertiginous footbridges, etc..
You have to take that into account, yes. But every industry lives with certain copy effects. Ultimately, this leads to precisely this pressure to constantly reinvent oneself. Standing still is regression and decline.

Which leads me to the following question: Many hotels, mountain railways, ski resorts have Inves- Which leads me to the following question: Many hotels, cable cars, ski resorts have had to fear for their existence due to a lack of snow. To what extent is there a creeping market shakeout?
An adjustment is underway, but is not taking place due to economic framework conditions, but due to climatic changes. On the economic side, there is always the public sector, which usually supports mountain railways. This is very understandable, because it is not only banks that are "too big to fail", but for

"You need stories that bring nature to life." Christoph Egger

A mountain railway or ski area is often "too big to fail" for a peripheral region. Because if a mountain railway disappears, jobs disappear and the basis for a stay is lost. What will the hotels do without guests? Trade and commerce also lose ground. The consequence is the further depopulation of peripheral regions.

What is the situation at the Schilthorn in terms of funding? Did you finance the most recent investments with your own funds or did public funds and bank loans also come into play?
We do not have any financial support from the public sector and have never needed it. We are in the fortunate position that we were able to finance the last investments from our own resources. Of course we are temporarily dependent on financial institutions from time to time, especially when it comes to compensating for liquidity fluctuations.

Another look into the future: What other new attractions will the Schilthorn soon be offering? Where do the Schilthorn lifts want to go from here?
The Schilthornbahn is bound to the Schilthorn. We can therefore only develop further in this area. In 2017 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the summit access. That says something about the age of certain infra-structures. We have constantly renewed them and adapted them to the latest state of the art. But even so, we sometimes operate in a tight corset here: the higher the demand from the markets, the narrower the experience on the mountain. These are things that bite into each other somewhat. In this respect, there are no new projects on the table that are ready for discussion. But it is foreseeable in which areas we need to take action: Further infrastructure renewals are on the horizon, but in parallel, the experience factor must always be further developed. One of the characteristics of digitalization is that many things are almost outdated by the time they are finally implemented. Accordingly, the renewal must proceed quickly here so that one can always adapt to the current trends.

So the speed and pressure to innovate are also increasing in tourism?
Yes. It mustn't take years from the idea to the saleable product, because otherwise the trend is over. That's a big problem. Because a lot of our work takes place on other people's land, in public space. We therefore always need a lot of persuasive power with the landowners, the population and the authorities if we want to realise a new idea. To accomplish this in the shortest possible time is always a challenge - but that is also part of the tension that this activity brings with it.

If we look at the long-term developments: There is certainly the climate change to mention. To what extent are the first consequences already being felt?
There are naturally noticeable effects. Anyone who has grown up in this region shaped by glaciers will notice the changes quite clearly: The ice is retreating, the vegetation is moving higher every year. Such effects are obvious. The thawing of the per-mafrost ground is noticeable in the infrastructure. However, climate change and global warming also offer opportunities for us - as schizophrenic as this may sound. Many of our guests travel here from tropical countries, from urban areas where heat, smog, polluted water cause huge problems. These people long for pure air, clean water and clear mountain views. This plays into our hands in the excursion business, because we can satisfy these deep-seated needs with the view from the Schilthorn.