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Holiday resorts are shut down amid a pandemic, but still bracing for an onslaught of visitors for the upcoming Easter weekend.

When Switzerland locked down and shut its borders more than three weeks ago, many of the country’s affluent rushed to their holiday homes. That often means decamping to the Alps: holiday homes are heavily concentrated in the country’s most mountainous region bordering Italy.

There’s not much going on: ski lifts have been mandated shut by the government, restaurants and recreational facilities are shut as in the rest of the country. Roger Federer, a resident of Valbella, is holed up at home, hitting balls against a wall in the snow. 

Finance professionals also retreated, to hideaways in St. Moritz, Klosters, or Lenzerheide. Video messages from private bankers against a pastoral background or Instagram posts of cross-country ski treks before breakfast are not uncommon.

Walled-Off Verbier

Verbier, especially popular with Britain’s well-to-do, considered walling off itself and the surrounding area to stem a high incidence of coronavirus (cantonal officials ultimately decided not to). On Thursday, the Swiss government extended the country's quarantine to April 26 – and flagged a gradual easing thereafter.

The alpine rush has accentuated the sometimes testy relationship between holiday-makers and local populations – and it muddies the otherwise clear government orders to «shelter in place». In 2012, Swiss voters said yes to curbs on holiday-home growth – after hot spots like Verbier and Davos saw explosive growth in second residences.

More Swiss Rich

The scene in Switzerland mirrors the affluent influx to other holiday spots like the Hamptons, the sleepy French or English countryside, or sparsely populated areas of the U.S. like Wyoming and Montana. However, Switzerland simply has many, many more of them: the Swiss lead in average wealth per adult at $564,650, ahead of Hong Kong and the U.S., according to a recent study by Credit Suisse.