San Bernardino: 500 million francs in private investment by 2035

San Bernardino Swiss Alps will invest around 500 million francs by 2035 to develop the resort's tourism, hotel and residential offering. The announcement was made on Friday by Ticino entrepreneur Stefano Artioli.

With the December reopening of the Hotel Ravizza and the Residenza Albarella, the first phase of the project comes to a close. The figures show sustained growth: between the 2022/23 and 2025/26 seasons, winter overnight stays rose by 85%, while entries to the ski lifts grew by 40% since the reopening. Around 90% of the apartments put up for sale have already found a buyer, a demand signal that reduces the risk for financing the next phases.

The next phases

The next project is called Acuforta: it foresees 200 million francs for a thermal, hotel and residential complex, with new housing not expected before 2029. A further 30 million francs will fund development of the Confin ski area, with a new chairlift, artificial snowmaking and a mountain restaurant, achievable within the next two and a half years. Also at an advanced stage is a 400-space parking garage with commercial space on the ground floor. Between Acuforta, Confin and the new parking garage, the figures announced so far already cover a substantial share of the 500 million francs planned overall by 2035, even though the value of the parking project has not been specified.

The plan is financed with private capital and rests on the market demand already recorded in the first phase. It remains to be seen what burden this will place on the municipality and the canton of Graubünden in terms of the infrastructure - roads, parking, networks - needed to support the expansion, and how the related tax burden will be shared. The timeline also remains an open question: the Acuforta thermal complex will not be ready before 2029, a sign that even with private capital and already-confirmed demand, a project of this scale takes a long time.