A visit with Mathias Petrig, Head of Finance and HR, Aletsch Arena AG

The landscape is wild, the people speak gibberish and it’s a far cry from the cities of Switzerland. Those are the common clichés about the Valais region. But the last point is no longer true, at least: Brig is just over two hours by train from Zurich. Fifteen minutes later, we’re being welcomed to the Aletsch Arena.

What is the Aletsch Arena, exactly? This term refers to a part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site. Aletsch Arena AG takes care of all the tourist needs of six municipalities in Valais, south of the great Aletsch Glacier.

The back office is in an elegant wooden house in Mörel-Filet. But today we don’t want to see the office; we want to enjoy the “most liberating nature experience in the Alps” (brand positioning). Together with Mathias Petrig, Head of Finance and HR at Aletsch Arena, we take the cable car from Betten valley station to Bettmeralp. “So en Gätsch,” he says, meaning the snow that lies boot-high on the ground at the end of March. Fortunately, an impressive snow taxi with caterpillar tracks is waiting for us. The situation is much worse for a tour group from Taiwan, who have to wade through the “Gätsch” in sneakers. Later, we meet them again on the summit – neither the walk nor the nasty weather seems to have dampened their good mood.

We are on the Bettmerhorn, 2,647 meters above sea level. The vantage point next to the mountain station would offer a spectacular view of the Aletsch Glacier, “much more impressive than that from the Jungfraujoch,” says Mathias Petrig. Google rates this view 4.9 out of 5. Unfortunately, today you can hardly see your hand in front of your face – a big exception for the “sunroom of Switzerland,” as Mathias Petrig describes it. We have no choice but to retreat to the summit restaurant, where the dish of the day is “cholera” – the name of a Valais cheese specialty.

Mathias Petrig, 45, begins to tell us the company’s story. With one million overnight stays, Aletsch Arena is now one of Switzerland’s tourism heavyweights. “Going digital is a very important strategic direction for us. For several years, we’ve been working with Aletsch Bahnen AG and other partners from the destination to build a sustainable digital transformation,” says Mathias Petrig. Several strategic milestones have already been set, including a project supported by the Swiss government (Innotour) to ensure continuous communication with guests. A new online shop has been set up to book accommodation, excursions, and cable car tickets, with an annual turnover of around ten million Swiss francs. A partner model supports smaller players, creates a level playing field, and increases service quality. Last but not least, the tourist tax regulations of the six destination municipalities have been harmonized. 

“We already send a quarter of our tourist tax bills via eBill, and the trend is growing,” says Mathias Petrig. The digital-savvy CFO believes that today, even as an SME, you have to offer this invoicing process, because “it's coming anyway.” It also brings many benefits. “It’s cheaper than mail. Payment morale is higher, and it’s perfectly integrated with our ERP system.”

As soon as “ERP” is mentioned, Mathias Petrig starts to beam and praises the solution from Abacus, a provider from eastern Switzerland. “The software is modular, so we can assemble it according to our needs, and the interfaces in the ERP system work perfectly.” The ERP also covers multiple means of payment. “Many people want to redeem their Reka money with us. This can be done without any issues, even in the online shop,” he adds. However, the most popular payment method has long been TWINT. “I am pleased that a Swiss solution has prevailed,” Mathias Petrig says.

Mathias Petrig grew up in Sierre and worked for a long time in Zurich as an auditor for one of the large accounting firms. After the birth of their two children, he, and his wife, also from Valais, returned to the mountain canton. “Now I work in a place where others go on vacation,” he laughs. Mathias Petrig is very athletic. He even takes part in the 21-kilometer Aletsch Half Marathon in the UNESCO World Heritage site, ascending from the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountain. Last time, he completed the 700-meter climb in about 2.5 hours.

As in many mountain regions, having a year-round strategy is crucial for Aletsch Arena AG: What can the region offer guests in addition to the snow experience? In the gondola back to Bettmeralp, Mathias Petrig shows what this means in concrete terms by looking out of the window. “Biking is the new skiing,” he says. There are more than one hundred kilometers of mountain bike trails, special pump and flow trails, e-bike charging stations, and other options for every biker’s taste. There are hiking trails and a golf course, too. You can also paraglide, do stand-up paddleboard yoga and much more. And there’s something for kids in almost every activity. With a touch of self-criticism, he says, “We need to better target our audience. We’ve developed a new marketing strategy for that purpose – we want to attract more guests to visit us in the off-season.”

Aletsch Arena AG employs thirty people and currently has three vacancies. “With 10% vacancies, we’re still in a good position,” says Mathias Petrig, who oversees the human resources department in addition to finance. “There’s practically full employment in Upper Valais at the moment, and the unemployment rate is just 0.8%.” This has a lot to do with Lonza, the booming manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Or, as Blick, the popular Swiss daily newspaper, puts it, “Valais is becoming a pharmacy for the whole world.” As much as the region is benefiting from the economic upswing, there is a shortage of workers: “Filling vacancies is incredibly difficult at the moment,” says Mathias Petrig.

We finish our meal, take the train back to Betten valley station and board the train to Zurich. Arrival: 5:14 pm. A day out in Valais with lunch at the summit restaurant comes highly recommended.