Lötschental open again after landslide: tourism hopes to return!

Lötschental open again after landslide: tourism hopes to return!

The Lötschental in Valais has reopened its gates to tourists after a devastating landslide in Blatten. The rockfall, which caused massive damage, has completely destroyed three hotels in the village and the impact on tourism is severe. The region is now hoping for a return of guests as tourism is crucial to the local economy. Loud 20 minutes The closure of the Lötschental was lifted on Friday evening, in time for the upcoming Pentecost weekend.

However, the situation is tense as more than 150 beds are lost due to the loss of hotels. Mathias Fleischmann, managing director of Lötschental Tourismus, described the loss as serious and emphasized the need to find short-term solutions. Temporary accommodation, such as tiny houses or containers, are currently being explored as options to meet tourists' needs. Before the landslide, demand for overnight stays was already high, with hotels in the valley recording an occupancy rate of around 80 percent.

Damage and challenges

The landslide not only affected the hotels in Blatten, but also the most important connecting road between Wiler and Blatten, which was buried after heavy rain. This road has been passable again since Saturday afternoon, which is important for the return of tourism. Local residents are trying to boost the tourism sector as a long shutdown potentially threatens the region's economic stability. Many tourist businesses, including restaurants and mountain railways, have now resumed operations, which is seen as a positive step towards stabilizing the situation nau.ch reported.

Postbus driver Kilian Lehner is observing empty buses and a decline in passenger numbers, with most passengers currently being locals. This leads to a quieter atmosphere in the valley, but the hope remains that more tourists will come again soon. Lehner describes the landslide as surreal and compares it to an explosion, which illustrates the drama of the situation.

Outlook for the future

The region's operators are doing everything they can to partially compensate for the loss of hotel beds through holiday apartments in the summer, while this will be difficult to do in the winter season. In the long term, it will be essential to rebuild the destroyed accommodation facilities in order to ensure sustainable tourism in the Lötschental.

Those responsible are optimistic and grateful for every guest who visits the region despite the challenges. The Lötschental is facing a turning point in which it relies on the support of tourists to recover from the consequences of the landslide and return to stable tourism.