In its key account management (KAM) activities, Switzerland Tourism ST maintains regular contact with tour operators. ST agrees business plans with them to add new Switzerland products to their range, to ensure that Swiss holiday and travel offers have a high profile on the corresponding (online and offline) platforms and to drive up sales of Switzerland products in general. However, the Covid-19 pandemic made it impossible to nurture these relationships in the usual way during 2020. ST’s 32 international offices therefore had to come up with new forms of events, as these three examples from India, GCC and South Korea illustrate.

Virtual information events in India

The ST employees in Mumbai held virtual presentations and information events via Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Contacts with a total of 6,000 tour operators were maintained in this way during 2020, for example through the key partner event “Hello Switzerland”. 15 key partners for the Indian market discussed tourism offerings and topics such as safety measures in Switzerland during the Zoom calls, each of which lasted ten minutes. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., who was one of those in attendance, stated: “Switzerland is a safe country. With the health and hygiene standards it is applying, Switzerland will retain its place as one of our customers’ preferred destinations.”

Virtual Arabian Travel Mart for GCC

The first Virtual Arabian Travel Mart took place in Dubai between 1 and 3 June 2020, featuring 120 virtual meetings and a total of 800 participants. Génève Tourisme, Zürich Tourismus, Interlaken Tourismus and Ticino Turismo all took part in the event as key partners. The aim was to foster contacts and boost sales of Switzerland products.

Hybrid workshops in South Korea

The international office in Seoul hosted nine hybrid workshops between July and November 2020, with around 180 participants in total. The first part of the workshops consisted of online sessions bringing together travel agents and key partners for the South Korean market. These sessions, which took place via MS Teams, presented topics such as hiking in the Lucerne region and Zermatt and the history and architecture of St. Gallen. In the second part, attendees were able to converse with the South Korean experts on Switzerland. This included a demonstration of how to make rösti.  

The four pillars of marketing
The marketing model for Switzerland Tourism ST is based on the four pillars of marketing. Specifically, the four main tools for this communication approach are Digital Marketing, Key Account Management (KAM), Key Media Management (KMM) and Promotion. In combination, these four main tools achieve the best possible impact for generating overnight stays. It is important that the different general conditions and consumer behaviour in the various markets are taken into account.
 
Facts and figures
Key Account Management (KAM)   2020 2019
Overnight stays generated through KAM million 0,96 5.38
Tourism turnover* CHF billion 190,1 mio 1.41 bio 
* KAM-generated overnight stays multiplied by the daily spending for the relevant country