Laax

In 1989, Ecosign was commissioned by Mr. Reto Gurtner, President and CEO of Bergbahnen Crap Sogn Gion, to prepare the first comprehensive Resort Area Master Plan for the classic alpine villages of Laax and Flims, situated in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Ecosign’s comprehensive study of 12,000 hectares of terrain determined that the Laax -Flims mountain areas could accommodate up to 41,320 skiers per day, but only if substantial improvements were made to existing accommodation and transportation infrastructures in the nearby villages. Ecosign also proposed the construction of a pedestrian-oriented village comprised of 686 new tourist beds for overnight accommodation, in addition to commercial tourist space, meeting space and underground parking stalls.

In 1991, the two companies of Bergbahnen Crap Sogn Gion and Bergbahnen Flims entered into a joint operating agreement, forming a new company called Weisse Arena AG. This corporate fusion engineered by Mr. Gurtner, significantly improved the resort’s cash flow and saw skier visits rise by 30 percent, reaching one million skier visits per year. Weisse Arena also reduced its number of operating lifts from 34 major installations to 27 key installations. The increased annual visitation, profitability and total revenues established Weisse Arena AG as the number one ski resort in Switzerland by the year 2000, with a current ranking of fourth due to fusions in Zermatt, Verbier and Davos.