Despite holding its 6 day adult lift pass price at the same rate for several years now, Zermatt does have the most expensive lift ticket in Europe, not helped from a British perspective by the seemingly perennially strong Swiss Franc (although rates have got a bit better recently).
But far families the famous resort beneath the Matterhorn does have an ace up its sleeve – children up to 8 years old inclusive ski free of charge. So it can be that for families even with that high adult pass price, the overall cost is lower than, say, in a top French resort where the adult [price is a bit lower but children have to pay 60-80% of the adult price from age 4 or 5. It depends a lot on the age of your children. There are also big discounts for teenagers and even savings for those in their early 20s at Zermatt and many other Swiss resorts.
And tomorrow, 1 November 2017, Zermatt are doing still more for families with kids aged under nine, with a new family promotion.
Among the new initiatives is the news that children under nine will no longer pay visitor's tax now either.
Furthermore, if parents buy a multi-day ski ticket, children up to age nine receive a new 'Wolli Card', which is valid for an entire fiscal year (until the end of October). With the Wolli Card, children enjoy unlimited travel on the mountain lifts, free accommodations in various hotels and benefit from other special offers.
These include free biking courses, sports equipment rentals, children's menus, train trips and museum admissions.
In addition to the Wolli Card, the destination is expanding the activity offerings for children and youngsters as part of the family promotion. New ideas include a year round treasure hunt.
"Children are our VIPs," said Daniel Luggen, Zermatt's Director of Tourism, adding, "Because children are our guests for the future. For this reason, this tourist resort decided to undertake this family promotion. The initiative intentionally includes the entire destination. A strong and focussed collaboration throughout the destination is our strategy in order to stay true to the desires of our guests while remaining a successful tourist destination."