People planning a winter holiday want to do as little organisation themselves as possible, confirmed the winter analysis carried out by Avenir Suisse on behalf of Switzerland Tourism ST in 2018. That makes convenience one of the ten opportunities identified for winter tourism in Switzerland.

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The Swiss hotel and restaurant trades hit the mark in 2020 through a focus on safety and flexibility.

The Snow Sports Hotels recognised by HotellerieSuisse offer just such an all-in, stress-free package for winter sports enthusiasts. All the hotels in this special category meet the following criteria:

  • Partnerships with cable car companies, ski schools and/or climbing schools and specialist shops
  • Location in a downhill or cross-country ski area: ski lift valley station or cross-country ski trails that can be reached by shuttle bus within a maximum of 20 minutes
  • Separate winter sports equipment room available with repair service
  • Hearty breakfast and packed lunches on request
  • Overnight laundry service for sports clothing and shower facility on day of departure
  • Detailed information and bulletins on snow conditions provided

Around 70 hotels were on board from the outset

Since the 2020/21 winter season, ST has been marketing these winter sports specialists under the “Swiss Snow Sports Hotels” category. Around 70 hotels took part in this cooperation from the outset, benefiting from the marketing knowledge of ST’s experts and the tremendous reach of the national tourism marketing organisation, with its online and offline marketing platforms in 22 markets. ST has concentrated above all on offer marketing and in winter 2020/21 also sought to boost the share of direct bookings with businesses. For example, all partner hotels can package their accommodation offers with ski passes and link to their own booking forms on MySwitzerland.com/snowsportshotels. This increases visibility and creates additional traffic.

Campaign costs waived for first winter season because of Covid-19

In view of the great uncertainty unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated travel restrictions, ST exempted all the hotels involved from the campaign costs for this first winter season. This gave the hotel trade – which has been hit hard by the pandemic – greater planning security. The initial feedback from the participating hotels has been consistently positive; a full evaluation will take place in April once the winter season is over.