«Wir wollen das Mountainbiken weiterbringen – auf eine eigene Art.»
Reto Gurtner is a tourism visionary and therefore extremely successful. He turned Laax into a snowboard mecca in the nineties, pushed ahead with digitalization and implemented the first mountain bike offers early on. But Laax stopped halfway in this area.
Laax was a pioneer as a mountain bike destination at the turn of the millennium. Why was the region then overtaken by other destinations?
While other destinations were still debating whether to transport bikers, we just did it. Laax was the right place for it. But there was a lot of resistance; the farmers, the municipalities and the hoteliers didn't want it. "What should we do with these people with their dirty bikes? They don't spend any money," they said. It was the same platitudes as with the snowboarders.
I experienced mountain biking early on in the USA and became a biker myself. In California, I saw that it worked and was always convinced that it would work here too.
In terms of ambition, it didn't work in Laax.
We first had to get the communities, the farmers and the hotel industry behind us. That's what we've been working on for the last fifteen years. During this time, Lenzerheide overtook us and did a good job. But now everyone in the destination of Laax is on board and we can go full throttle. The natural conditions we have are perfect: an area of 100 km2 and from 3000 to 700 meters. This is what sets our region apart from others.
You also had to convince the other players in the destination about the snowboard offers. Did that help with the development of the mountain bike offers? In the beginning, we could just let the snowboarders ride on the slopes, the halfpipe came later. For the bikers, we had to build trails right from the start that didn't yet exist. What we learned: First of all, the structure has to fit, which includes the laws, but also that the locals welcome the new sport and its fans. With events like Trailfox, we brought the sport and the people closer to the locals. Flims resisted vehemently, but then finally realized that it worked and were convinced from then on.
And now Laax is starting to catch up?
We will be investing between one and three million francs in mountain bike infrastructure over the next few years, but we don't want to copy anyone, neither Lenzerheide, nor Davos, nor the Engadin. We will create our own image.
Our target audience is those who are looking for the playful, the flow. This applies to both winter and summer. We are using the digital edge we have built up in recent years to offer our guests an even better experience. If necessary, we will limit access to the mountain, as we already do in winter. We won't let so many people onto the slopes or trails that it's no longer fun.
What mountain bike infrastructure will be implemented?
Our "BikeVision22" envisages three expansion steps: Last year, we opened the Nagens Trail, which was built by Velosolutions using purely electric power - a world first. There are also plans to unbundle the area for hikers and bikers in the necessary places. We also want to create a wider range of offers, especially for bike beginners and families. We are planning a new ski area on Crap Sogn Gion, the heart of Laax in winter. The "BikeVision22" is rounded off by an extensive rail link across the entire area. But good trails alone are not enough to keep mountain bikers coming back.
As with snowboarders, it needs the culture that goes with it, the community in which mountain bikers feel comfortable. It needs scene meeting points, restaurants with good, healthy food and accommodation that suits mountain bikers.
Wouldn't it be time to shift funds from winter to summer business?
These are two different products that are not in competition with each other. We need to have a good offer in all four seasons for guests who want to be active in nature.
Ski Days are on the decline, while Biker Days are on the rise. Isn't that a reason to scale back the winter business?
Strong growth is much easier to achieve with small numbers. We also sell well in winter and need the masses. No ski resort works without masses. We're not making any money from bikers at the moment. But as a four-season destination, we want to offer them good trails. If we only looked at cash flow, then we would have to do banking business. In our industry, profit is the result of doing a good job and keeping our guests happy. And to do that, we have to listen to them and offer them what they want.
What role does mountain biking play in the Laax destination's offering?
Biking is very important, not just for us, but for social development. In the past, everyone went to the sea until the beaches were overcrowded. Corona has made our own country more fascinating again. Many people have realized that the mountains also have their appeal in summer. And the generation that no longer wants to fly is coming. The eco-movement has always been important to us, which is why we developed our own sustainability concept called "Greenstyle" back in 2010.
Is the destination of Laax getting ready for ecological tourism?
Iam definitely not afraid of the future. The development will continue. Winter sports won't disappear, you just have to configure it in such a way that it suits people's needs. With Greenstyle, we are setting the guidelines for this. The evolution of biking is great, the bikes are getting better and better and it's more and more fun. We want to focus on dynamics, playing with balance, harmony and flow. We want to take mountain biking further, but in our own sustainable way without copying others. That is in the DNA of Laax. At my advanced age, I still enjoy being disruptive.
Reto Gurtner has shaped the development of the destination Flims Laax Falera since the 1980s. He was CEO of the Weisse Arena Group until 2020, when he retired from the operational business, but remains Chairman and Delegate of the Group's Board of Directors.