The cities and states that compete to attract investments and wealthy people are innumerable and do not make the news, but we are talking about one specific case because it could set a world record: Crans-Montana, the chicest resort in Switzerland, is proposed as a district industrial – in a broad sense – to host management centers, new clinics and research institutes, and this is not equivalent (to make an extreme comparison) to the Maldives which (hypothetically) were candidates to do business, but it is as if for the purpose offered the single most exclusive atoll in the Maldives. Naturally, in Crans-Montana they are well aware that there is a delicate balance to be respected, therefore they do not intend to make room on their territory for steelworks or factories, and you will never see columns of trucks climbing along the pleasant valleys; but in these parts there is ample space for clean and low-impact activities, and neither is starting from scratch: in the town hall, the mayor and president of the city and the mountain community of Crans-Montana, Nicolas Féraud, observes that “ right behind here is the best clinic in Switzerland, and we have others of an excellent standard. There are already several entrepreneurs who have transferred their businesses here, and find everything they need: perfect services, ideal climate, zero crime, and a very high quality of life”.
Italian skier Federica Brignone on the slopes of Crans-Montana. The Swiss resort hosts frequent races and will host the 2027 World Ski Championships
For companies there are numerous tax and regulatory benefits, which are dealt with by Rafal Hys, delegate (councillor) for economic promotion of the Association des communes de Crans-Montana (Accm), and natural persons can benefit from a “flat tax” as many like it now also in Italy.
Moment of relaxation on the snow of Crans-Montana
The mayor/president Nicolas Féraud is nice and friendly, speaks excellent Italian, and summarizes the boasts of his territory as follows: “We have 300 days of sunshine a year, a lot of snow in winter, but here there is a lucky microclimate, because it is mostly dry”. We are about 1500 meters (it reaches 2200 in the highest hamlets, also connected by a cableway as well as by roads). “The air is very pure – Féraud points out – in fact Crans-Montana as a tourist resort was born a long time ago, before skiing became fashionable, as a spa and health centre. And our program of entertainment activities includes 270 events a year of all types, from sports to concerts and other cultural events”. And as a first example, Féraud shows the Italian guest the poster of a concert by the chamber orchestra of La Scala in Milan scheduled for January 1st (Alexandre Kantorow at the piano, under the direction of Mikhail Pletnev). 5 other musical appointments of the same level are expected by March.
An aerial shot of the town of Crans-Montana
From the town hall we move to a nearby wine shop where the mayor/president Féraud confides, half-jokingly: “Since we have such an intense promotional activity, one of my duties is to participate in continuous events and presentations of events , and so I get up to three cocktails a day”. He takes the opportunity to point out dozens of wine labels from Crans-Montana, or from the Canton of Valais to which the town belongs. They should preferably be associated with the numerous cured meats and cheeses that the area produces at zero kilometer.
Mountains, snow and sun near the small town in the canton of Valais
Let’s make an objection: attracting management centers, clinics and scientific institutes here will bring some top managers and some high-level researchers, but inevitably some normal people will also have to arrive with them, probably well paid, but with not stratospheric salaries; Will they be able to live in Crans-Montana? We quickly verified that the prices in the town are not popular, from shops to restaurants and hotels, and stopping in front of the windows of two or three real estate agencies we noticed that you get to pay more than 400,000 francs for 65 square meters, and 3 or 4 million for real apartments. All right, with the new businesses a mass influx is not expected, but some non-rich people will still have to arrive in the town, and the problem is: where and how will they live?
A small reservoir near Crans-Montana. The area is full of natural lakes and dams
Rafal Hys, the delegate for economic promotion, replies: “This problem really doesn’t exist. Let me give you an example: in the clinics that we already have in the city, 80% of the staff is not made up of doctors but of nurses, who have high but normal salaries. And these people easily find homes, not luxury but of excellent quality, which they can afford without problems”. Incidentally, Crans-Montana proposes itself as a residence for pensioners – wealthy, it is implied – who perhaps consider the hypothesis of moving to non-European countries with a low cost of living, but who would encounter (perhaps) ancillary problems there which Crans-Montana Montana has no such shortage of crime and medical facilities.
Further objection: from Crans-Montana airports it is served well, but not very well, and this could represent a limitation for business. In the surroundings there are three intercontinental airports, namely Geneva, Zurich and Malpensa, each between two and three hours by car from Crans-Montana, depending on traffic and snow, and two or three hours are not many, but they are not not even very few. However, this problem does not exist for super VIPs: “Here we have more than 80 residents who have private jets, and use the small Sion airport, which is only a 20-minute drive from Crans-Montana,” says delegate Hys; not even a city airport, but even (if the expression exists) a home airport.
The Casino is also important for Crans-Montana, which however does not function, as one might imagine, as a cesspool of vice: “Clients don’t come here from outside to play who knows what sums – says Mayor/President Nicolas Féraud -, they are mostly more people on holiday in Crans-Montana, who pass in front of the Casino in the evening and come in to play out of curiosity”. Crans-Montana focuses heavily on golf (it hosts the largest Swiss golf club and an annual international event) but above all links its image to skiing; here the 1987 World Ski Championships were held and the same event will be held forty years later, in 2027. The city intends to make it a great driving force for tourism promotion: “In 1987 it worked very well – says Féraud – then with time the effect was lost. Now we are committed to seize the opportunity again. You in Turin experienced it with the 2006 Winter Olympics”.