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By and large, locals are accustomed to city-dwellers visiting for set holidays like year-end, ski weeks in winter, or late summer hiking. This year was different: the pandemic put the kibosh on winter revenue, which typically makes for the lion's share of annual revenue.

«Blow-Ins» Vs Taxpayers

Holiday-makers argue they aren’t «blow-ins»: home-owners are taxed on their second residences as well. «If I own it, why shouldn’t I opt to isolate in it during corona?» is a common refrain. Detractors point towards overloaded health and other infrastructure – and also voice fears of the virus spreading more quickly from cities into more remote areas. The federal government is mum on recommendations about isolating in holiday homes.

Easter, a four-day weekend in Switzerland, presents the next challenge: many Swiss traditionally make a break for Ticino, on the southern border. The region, which counts UBS boss Sergio Ermotti as its native son, has been hard-hit due to its proximity to Bergamo and Lombardy, the Italian regions with extremely high incidence of the virus. Federal officials are pleading with holiday-makers to give Ticino a miss this year.

Open Arms vs Hostility

The appeals hit at the heart of Switzerland’s approach to fighting the virus’ spread: health minister Alain Berset made no secret of his desire not to impose a straight-out ban, arguing that appealing to a sense of solidarity and calm is more effective. On Wednesday, Berset's irritation with those making plans to travel for the weekend boiled over: «Restez à la maison!,» he said curtly at a press conference. 

Some holiday towns are empathic: city-dwellers in Bern would be welcome in the Oberland, where villages like Interlaken and Grindelwald are popular, local government representatives of Alp resorts told «Der Bund». The general message was empathy for why home-owners wanted to spend time in their holiday homes – and asked them to stick to the protection rules.

The tone elsewhere is less understanding: local officials hope for a mandated closure of the Gotthard road tunnel under the alps and into Ticino. Some towns are taking matters into their own hands: Onsernone, which bills itself «the Mediterranean soul of Switzerland», sent the owners of holiday homes a dramatic letter asking them not to visit, according to Swiss daily «Tages-Anzeiger».