Colorado — The Alterra Mountain Company and Vail Resorts usually compete over the number of passes they can sell. While they have primarily competed over North American skier visits, it now appears that they will compete in Switzerland.
Swiss news outlet NZZ am Sonntag reports that Alterra is interested in acquiring ski resorts and hotels in Switzerland. They say that Alterra approached at least one ski resort to inquire about acquiring them but was unsuccessful.
In the meantime, Alterra has been strengthening its Ikon Pass offerings in Europe. This has included signing a deal with the Upper Engadin Mountain Railway Association, which gives Ikon Passholders access to St. Moritz and neighboring mountains. In addition, they extended their agreement with Zermatt.
Since it is a privately owned company, the Alterra Mountain Company doesn’t need to disclose its financials. However, the money each resort that the Ikon Pass is on receives is believed to be lucrative.
In August, Blick and Blue News reported that Vail Resorts was in talks to acquire the Flims Laax Falera ski resort from the Weisse Arena Gruppe. However, NZZ said that the Weisse Arena Gruppe eventually denied these reports, ultimately questioning whether the sale would happen. Vail Resorts, known for its expansive portfolio of properties in North America and Australia, has recently acquired two Swiss ski resorts. Over the past few years, they’ve acquired Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans Montana.
Pierre Besson, who runs the Magic Mountains Cooperation, a Swiss ski resort company, said that Vail Resorts is eyeing five to six ski resorts in Austria and Switzerland for future acquisition. They sell the Magic Pass, which gives access to over 80 Swiss ski resorts, a similar product to the Epic and Ikon Pass. While he couldn’t name any mountains Alterra has pursued, Pierre said the following about Alterra’s ambitions:
“We know that Alterra has a large amount of money at its disposal to buy up ski resorts in Europe.”
Image/Video Credits: Andrew Masters (Featured Image), Vail Resorts, Alterra Mountain Company (Mapbox)
