Do you know where the 200 missing British tourists are now?

I might be happy to visit in the ski season for the scenery and to join in the other stuff, too old now to learn to ski.

Some hikers I think, also mountain biking is popular. But not the same numbers as during ski season.

I agree biba. Some of the children at that camp were horrific. I am a tough nut, used to working in UK state schools, but some of the behaviour that passed as acceptable due to an exaggerated sense of entitlement was horrible.

Andy Wigmore should bear some sort of legal consequence for his behaviour.

Well there is only 2 ways with skiing- you either fall in love and become hooked- or you hate it. I have been skiing for about 68 years- I am hooked.

.. and yes, very different clientèle. Different resorts have different clientèle in ski season too. Gstaad, St Moritz, Wengen, Zermatt- 'Old Money' - as represented in the famous Downhill Only Club- and very posh.

Verbier on the other end is well known for attracting 'New Money' - aka Hurray Henries from the City.

True, and I guess they get return visitors year on year. My DD is hooked on skiing. It becomes a bit of an obsession.

The quarantine was announced, so he and a group left for France and arrived twenty minutes before quarantine started.

What a selfish, self-entitled git!

Andy Wigmore (one of the people who left for France) has also been given two contracts for Covid tests, charging people rip off rates for private tests.

All ski resorts, in all countries, try to bring more Summer and all season tourists. Walking, hiking, mountain biking, hang gliding, etc, etc- but their busiest and best season, and the one thaat employs the most people- it the ski season.

Same her for sure- 'my' area is very similar to yours. Simple, not touristy, and a long way from the Alps and the Hurray Henries in Veeeerbiay.

Do they have hiking holidays in summer GagaJo?
Is it a different clientele out of season?

It's the same dilemma all the time though, isn't it? Low rates, safe to open, keep the economy going. Bearing in mind that ski resorts only make money in winter, if it is safe to open, they want to.

Speaking personally, I don't want to live in those areas. They are just holiday resorts. I am much happier in my Suisse/French village with no tourists and a low rate of covid.

If you had low rates surely you wouldn't want visitors coming in from places with higher rates?

Our coastal resort is in tier 2, low rates. Probably 100 or so hotels, several luxury ones at £250 a night. Over the past few days since Christmas I have noticed many of them putting new notices up that they are closing from today until further notice. Sorry for inconvenience etc.
I think that implies that the majority of the visitors booked in for new year were from tier 3 or 4.

France has closed its ski resorts

If you had low rates surely you wouldn't want visitors coming in from places with higher rates?

My DN was complaining to me about people who have fled from Tier 4 London to their holiday homes in the West Country which was in Tier 2, now being put into Tier 3.

It would have been the low rates of Covid at the time the decision was made. The area I live in has NO covid patients in hospital today. We were under lockdown until very recently, maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago.

But then the area I live in doesn't get foreign tourists bringing it in. We are just a residential village.

So did Switzerland, only restaurants serving residential guests were opened.

biba so Switzerland kept its hotels, and accompanying restaurants, open to the international public, in the middle of an international pandemic, contra to the advice given and taken by other EU states? What was it that made Switzerland decide to ignore the advice, do you know?

Certainly not. What I mean is if the rest of Europe, and further afield, perceive Verbier as an open fully functioning tourist resort they will flock there.

Elliane Switzerland is not part of the EU, is it?

No idea. In the 2 weeks leading up to the holiday, there was much discussion about if the resort would be open. Although I left with my students, the ski camp is still open. Packed with international students.

Look at the reports all over Europe calling them tourists as in mokryna's, opening question. So yes, the resort was actually open to tourists.

Can’t decide if I should cut out sugar or carbs or just try to do smaller portions.
I may have to resort to the cabbage soup diet.

Meanwhile, the Wensleydale with cranberries was very tasty.

Chewbacca

^There would be nothing wrong with keeping the Swiss resorts open for domestic visitors. I^ assume if you live locally to a ski resort that's what you do

Precisely Ellianne; which is exactly what Austria has done. But to make sure that people didn't travel from afar, they've closed shops, hotels and restaurants thereby ensuring that only local people could access their skiing facilities. Switzerland decided to keep everything open, to everyone, and therefore took a huge risk that the pandemic would spread from overseas visitors.

So did Switzerland, only restaurants serving residential guests were opened. The full ban came when the mutant version from UK and South Africa were confirmed to be a real issue.

The UK had known about those since September, but chose not to share said info until it was too late.

Callistemon

Where are they?

I was going to say that this mysterious case has more holes than Gruyère cheese but Swiss Gruyère doesn't have holes does it?

Bravo - and spot on. Gruyères does NOT have holes- Emmenthal does.

There would be nothing wrong with keeping the Swiss resorts open for domestic visitors. I assume if you live locally to a ski resort that's what you do

Precisely Ellianne; which is exactly what Austria has done. But to make sure that people didn't travel from afar, they've closed shops, hotels and restaurants thereby ensuring that only local people could access their skiing facilities. Switzerland decided to keep everything open, to everyone, and therefore took a huge risk that the pandemic would spread from overseas visitors.

mokryna Do you know there is a "Friends of the Chalet School"group and they are republishing some books? Not cheap (£13) but you might find something you want www.ggbp.co.uk