Aufgabe HT 2 · Abitur NRW Geographie GK · Haupttermin · bilingual Englisch 2021

Topic: Viable Development Through Tourism? – Case Study: Municipality of Zermatt, Switzerland

Complete the three tasks below using the documents provided.

Doc. 1: Atlas – Maps of Your Choice & Doc. 2: Zermatt – Protected Areas and Tourism

Note: BLN (Bundesinventar der Landschaften und Naturdenkmäler) = Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments of national importance in Switzerland

Doc. 3: Zermatt – Climate & Switzerland – snow depth

Doc. 4: Zermatt – Development

1898 · start of operation of the Gornergrat Bahn as the first electric mountain rack railway in summer

1928–1930 · Visp-Zermatt-Bahn with limited service in winter; 1929: electrification of railway; 26 June 1930: start of the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt

(since) 1931 · ban on private petrol cars; today central public car park in Täsch (5 km away from Zermatt) and approx. 500 electric vehicles in use

1942 · construction of first ski lift between Zermatt and Sunnegga (lift for hikers in summer)

1955 · founding of Air Zermatt; currently operating a fleet of 9 helicopters

1964 · start of operation of waste incineration plant

1964–1967 · expansion of mountain railways Zermatt-Furi and Sunnegga-Blauherd

1982 · start of operation of underground sewage treatment plant

2006 · four new shuttle trains (Täsch-Zermatt) and four new low-floor railcars for the Gornergrat Bahn enter service; opening of Matterhorn museum Zermatlantis

2006 · cable car linking Furi and Riffelberg completed, creating one of the largest and highest interconnected skiing regions in the Alps with 263 km of ski slopes in winter and 20 km of ski slopes in summer

2008 · restriction on acquisition of second homes

2010 · Zermatt Bergbahnen AG receives Swiss solar prize for its restaurant Matterhorn glacier paradise (Klein Matterhorn)

2011 · Zermatt chosen as Switzerland's most sustainable winter holiday resort from among 14 destinations by the Swiss Association for Transport and Environment

2017 · opening of the world's longest suspension foot bridge near the village of Randa, 4 km away from Zermatt, connecting the Europaweg trail between Grächen and Zermatt at a dizzying height

2020 · The Omnia hotel in Zermatt ranked fifth worldwide in the category "best luxury hotel" by renowned online travel company

Doc. 5: Zermatt Tourism – Facts and Figures

112 hotels (90 % family-owned), 1,221 non-hotel accommodation facilities

approx. 40 % seasonal employees

between 2000 and 2014: approx. CHF 110 million invested in tourism infrastructure by municipality of Zermatt; 2017: CHF 56.3 million revenue by the municipality of Zermatt

Doc. 6: Municipality of Zermatt – Social and Economic Structures

Apartments/real estate prices

Total number of apartments

thereof second homes · 5,669

1,528

Average rent for two-room apartment / 60 m² (CHF*)

• Zermatt

• Switzerland

1,682

1,214

* CHF 1 (Swiss Franc) ≈ EUR 1.04

Doc. 7: Press Release by Valais Tourism Observatory

Chinesische Touristen verhalten sich anders als die Gäste, die unser Land traditionsgemäß besuchen. Chinesen unternehmen vor allem Gruppenreisen und besuchen generell mehrere europäische Länder anlässlich einer Reise in den Westen. Sie bleiben nicht lange am gleichen Ort; durchschnittlich dauert ihr Aufenthalt nur 1,4 Nächte (2017). Sie sind typische Hotelkunden, achten sehr genau auf den Preis der Übernachtung und der Mahlzeiten, sind dafür aber beim Shopping äußerst ausgabefreudig. Wie wichtig Einkaufen für Chinesen ist, geht aus den Zahlen von Schweiz Tourismus hervor: Mit Ausgaben von CHF 380,- pro Tag (2017) stehen die Chinesen an der Spitze aller Touristen in der Schweiz, [...].

Doc. 8: Zermatt – Natural Hazards

Note: debris flow: landslides with rock material and mudflow

1.

Locate Zermatt and characterize the tourism potential of the municipality. [21 Punkte]

2.

Illustrate how tourism in Zermatt has developed, how it is structured and what significance it has. [30 Punkte]

3.

Discuss the future prospects of tourism in Zermatt. [29 Punkte]