Switzerland Tourism is a federal corporation under public law tasked with promoting domestic and international tourism demand for Switzerland as a holiday, travel and convention destination.

The development and implementation of demand-enhancing marketing programmes and the profiling of the strong, traditional yet modern Swiss tourism brand both nationally and internationally are its key priorities. ST does this in close collaboration with the tourism sector, which contributes around half of the budget. The other half consists of federal funds. The organisation is oriented towards customers and markets, and is managed in accordance with commercial criteria.

ST is present in 22 markets worldwide, employing around 240 people. ST is a corporation under public law with a membership structure. Its Board of Directors comprises 13 representatives from the tourism sector, business and industry associations. Jean-François Roth chairs the organisation (2008 – 2019), while Martin Nydegger is responsible for operational management. In 2019, Parliament decided to create a credit facility of CHF 230 million as the federal contribution for the period 2020–2023 (same as for the period 2016-2019), thereby setting an upper limit. Each year, Parliament can decide whether this limit is to be fully utilised. The federal contribution accounts for 56% of ST’s budget. The other 44% is contributed by the sector, members and economic partners.

Facts and Figures
     
Markets   22
Staff
– of whom trainees		   237
24
Spending
– of which regular federal funding		 CHF m
CHF m		 93.49
52.75
Spending abroad CHF m 70.96
Degree of self-financing % 43.50
Marketing budget/marketing staff CHF 256,000
Switzerland Tourism becomes the new tenant in Zurich’s venerable “Stadthalle” building

The historic “Stadthalle” building in Zurich-Aussersihl has been the new headquarters of Switzerland Tourism ST since July 2019. Following a colourful history as one of the first public events buildings in Switzerland and then as a garage, the “Stadthalle” now serves as the new headquarters for the Swiss tourism marketing after almost two years of renovation. The open, light-filled rooms on three floors encourage cooperation across all departments. Employees can choose their own workplace each day; they simply sit in the best spot for their particular projects.
The renovation was fully funded by Hess Investment. ST is the leaseholder in the new headquarters. Future costs (including relocation costs) will be lower than at the old address in Zurich-Enge. Here’s the report carried in “Schweiz aktuell”