Tourism was an English Affair in Switzerland

11 December 2020

Tourism development in Switzerland in the second half of the nineteenth century was mainly an English affair. Many famous personalities had already visited the Confederation in the eighteenth century, whether on their way to Italy and Greece or as scholars, writers, businessmen, or politicians.

Many visitors wrote about the country’s beauty, political system, history, and the absence of royalty and aristocracy, which were anomalies in this period. Many memoirs, travel books, press articles, and the first guidebooks (such as Baedeker) were published.

The Swiss rail network expanded significantly in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the number of tourists increased accordingly. The first Alpine clubs and agencies  (Thomas Cook) organised the first tours. Remote areas were discovered, and tourism became a real business. During this period, the British accounted for 85% of the visitors.

Many jobs were created: mountain guides, catering services, hotel and casino staff, coachmen (who transported passengers from the train station to their final destination), shopkeepers, traders, translators, photographers, and information agencies.

Tourism has caused an economic boom, leading to new employment and work opportunities in remote areas. It also changed the urban and village landscape and way of life.

British food was introduced, theatrical and musical performances were organised in hotels, and lawn tennis courts and golf courses were created. Local villagers frequently participated in these activities, and some cultural exchange occurred.

Hotels built chapels on their premises or donated land for the construction of churches. British tourists financed these ventures, and British architects designed the places of worship.

In 1914, there were more than 30 English church buildings in Switzerland. The Church of England appointed seasonal or full-time chaplains.

(Source: D. Conrad-Daubrah, ´Pontresina´s 19th – century British visitors´ in Graubünden Ecxlusiv, Nr. 55, 2017 and www.pontresina.ch/museumalpin).