Visiting Switzerland

A Chagall exhibit has just closed at the Gianadda Foundation in Martigny (the canton of Valais); it received more than 200,000 visitors.

Those who had the courage to make the pilgrimage by bus, train or car to Martigny, (where the only cultural institution for miles around is the Gianadda Foundation) would have noticed the lines of tourist buses arriving in the morning and leaving in the late afternoon.

The Gianadda Foundation which puts on several mega-exhibitions per year, brings substantial tourism to the area. On average, roughly 1000 people visit each day. The Foundation, which is sort of a museum without a collection, sponsors big-name exhibits of artists anyone with access to a television would have heard of. Often poorly lit and crassly hung, these exhibits necessarily involve major expenses for insurance and logistics.

The impact of the draw of visitors to the exhibits has been substantial, resulting in the creation of local art galleries and exhibition venues.

With the recently created St. Bernard Museum (a dog museum), tourism has been picking up in the Martigny area, which in the past saw its largest number of visitors during the summer period when gladiator contests for cows are put on in the arena, or in the winter when visitors pass through on their way to ski resorts.

A local hotelier commented that the combination of the St. Bernard Museum and the Gianadda Foundation had been very beneficial but that more remained to be done as Martigny is still one of the least touristed regions of the Valais.