Zermatt wants fewer guests. This is the only way to explain why the Valais tourism metropolis is discussing charging an entrance fee to those who have not booked an overnight stay. The plans have been made public by SRF. The amount of the fee has also already been defined: it is to be 12 francs - the same as the visitor's tax for a three-day stay at the foot of the Matterhorn.

Mountain bikers who want to spend a day on the fine single trails could also be affected by the entrance ticket to Zermatt. This raises the question of whether guests who book a guide and thus contribute to the added value also have to pay the day fee. Nobody wants to answer this, one guide refers to the media office, which does not respond to repeated inquiries from Ride. Another local guide also failed to respond to the editor's attempts to contact him.

What would the fee mean for guides?

The guides certainly have something to lose. Even if 12 francs is not much compared to the cost of a tour, there are still many other worthwhile destinations in the area that do not charge an entrance fee. Moreover, with overtourism as the reason for the charge, the aim is not for all visitors to Zermatt to spend money. The aim of the measure is to reduce the number of people who visit the village at the end of the Mattertal valley.

It would also be interesting to know what applies to mountain bikers or hikers who reach the municipality of Zermatt via one of the trails and not by train, the usual access to the car-free village. Will those who cross the "green border" be fined if they are caught without a ticket? Who will point out to them that they have entered the municipality? Or are they responsible for noticing this themselves?

A ticket is not yet required to visit Zermatt. The questions will be clarified if the fee becomes a fact. It would then also be interesting to see whether the incentive tax has the desired effect. Venice increased the ticket price from 5 to 10 euros after four months. Apparently, the masses of tourists in the lagoon city have not decreased one bit. Perhaps this is also due to the fact that many do not buy a ticket anyway. The risk of being caught is small and there are no sanctions.

In one respect, Zermatt is already repeating Venice's story: both destinations have received plenty of negative press in connection with the day tickets.