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Switzerland Tourism inspires an enduring interest in travelling to Switzerland as a holiday, convention and travel destination and focuses on attracting new visitors. |
2021 was a rollercoaster year. However, the tourism service providers and Switzerland Tourism ST not only learned to navigate the constant ups and downs, but also moved from reacting to events to operating proactively, as a review of the year reveals.
Switzerland’s ski areas thankfully remained open to domestic and international visitors, in contrast to those in other Alpine countries. The tourism service providers successfully implemented protective measures, preventing infection hotspots from developing. However, a further lockdown in January led to the closure of restaurants, cultural attractions and leisure facilities (only hotel restaurants remained open for their own guests).
As a consequence, ST assumed some key overarching responsibilities, including creating the page MySwitzerland.com/open, which from the start of the winter season gave an overview of the different cantonal regulations in winter sports destinations. The site was expanded over the course of the year, with information added on mask-wearing, entry restrictions for travellers and certification rules. The ST winter campaign My First Time demonstrated a real feel for the needs of new visitors, providing plenty of inspiration for other activities besides skiing and snowboarding. This appealed to visitors who do not normally take winter breaks.
As expected, there were large drops in numbers across all markets combined, but significant rises were at least recorded for the domestic market and, to the surprise of some, the Polish market. This was attributable to a temporary travel corridor and the lightning-fast implementation of corresponding marketing measures by the ST office in Warsaw.
With a view to Covid measures starting to ease, ST planned the greatest advertising coup in its over 100-year history: 20-time Grand Slam champion and public favourite Roger Federer officially joined our team in April. He became a long-term brand ambassador for Switzerland as a holiday destination, with the aim of attracting international visitors. The short film “No Drama” starring Federer and Robert de Niro achieved tremendous media resonance around the world and went viral on social media. Along with other measures such as the unmissable advertising banners in ultra-prime sites – Times Square in New York, Piccadilly Circus in London, the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo and Hamburg’s harbour area – this helped Switzerland triumph in the tough battle to grab the attention of would-be travellers.
The tourism industry was finally able breathe again at the end of June, when restrictions were largely eased for hospitality and events. In conjunction with HotellerieSuisse and GastroSuisse, ST supported this fresh start by launching the nationwide restaurant campaign Rendez-vous. After a long time apart, this was a chance to celebrate coming together again around Switzerland’s most beautiful tables. Together with the lifting of quarantine requirements for travellers from outside the Schengen area and the easing of rules for vaccinated third-country visitors, this saw a degree of normality return. The time was ripe for ST to unleash its summer and autumn marketing drive. ST reached visitors from Switzerland and Europe with high-profile support from TV presenter Michelle Hunziker for Italy, explorer Mike Horn for France, pop singer Beatrice Egli for Germany and Bastian Baker for the domestic market.
Things took another positive turn in October. This was borne out by the Switzerland Travel Mart (STM) in Interlaken, which was attended by more than 350 tour operators from almost all corners of the world. The business events segment also saw its first positive signals, including the meeting of the largest conference organisers in Lausanne and the increase in small meetings from the short-haul markets. Meeting experts also drove digitalisation forward, adapting the infrastructure to the changed requirements and monitoring the situation in the individual markets, enabling them to respond with measures at the right time.
Late November then showed how quickly everything can change. The wide spread of the delta variant and the new omicron mutation led to a short-lived reintroduction of quarantine lists, threatening winter tourism over the critical Christmas and new year period. Fortunately, quarantine lists were quickly replaced by a comprehensive testing regime, rekindling hopes for the winter season.
The ups and downs may continue in 2022, but we will not be discouraged or diverted from our course. We need to keep calm, anticipate developments as best we can and above all seize short-term opportunities as they arise. Only in this way will we be able to stimulate lasting demand for travel in all 23 markets and live up to our claim to be one of the world’s best national tourism organisations. Some of the buyers who travelled to the STM confirmed to us that we are on the right track here.
Martin Nydegger
CEO Switzerland Tourism
Janine Hemfler, Product Manager Marketing Central Europe, DER Touristik
The STM is a good example of how ST’s organisation and structure help it run like Swiss clockwork. And during the pandemic I was especially impressed that ST provided all the necessary information on vaccination rates, restrictions and measures in the country as soon as it became clear that travel to Switzerland could be sold again. The communication between DER Touristik and ST was so good that Switzerland became bookable again overnight. This is just one reason why ST is in my personal Champions League.
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Antonis Theodorides, Procurement Manager, Australian Pacific Touring (APT), Australian market
The pre and post-tours organised by ST are legendary. They bring tour operators like us up close and personal with Switzerland. I still remember my very first trip to Switzerland. I never dreamed that I would learn so much on my first visit. For me, ST is definitely one of the top five NTOs.
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Cecilia Zhou, Manager of Miki Travel Limited, UK market
In my opinion, ST is the top NTO in the world. It was impressive that your organisation was able to improve even during the pandemic, for example with your billboard advertising at Piccadilly Circus, and of course by recruiting Roger Federer as your ambassador. The way you work closely with partners such as the airline SWISS and the consulates is also outstanding. That is palpable everywhere.
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Rupert Möschel, Purchasing and Product Management, ÖBB Rail Tours, Austrian market
I can’t draw comparisons with other NTOs, but I can say that ST demonstrates a great deal of engagement, be that with its many initiatives or campaigns with newspapers. You really feel the passion within the organisation. Keep it up! Everything runs perfectly.
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Khushnooma Dastur Das, General Manager, FCM Travel Solutions (India) Pvt. Ltd., Indian market
I work in the MICE area and am therefore mainly in contact with the Switzerland Convention and Incentive Bureau (SCIB). The consistently high level of quality is striking. With SCIB, everything is clear, on time, consistent and fair, and there is a great deal of mutual trust. For these reasons and others, SCIB/ST is in my top three worldwide and the clear number one in Europe.
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Mats Ekberg, CEO and founder of KONFIDO, Nordics market
I work exclusively in Europe, but in my view ST is the undisputed number one in this continent. ST understands how to address the specific demands of each individual country. We also greatly appreciated the constant and reliable help in keeping pace with the different pandemic rules.
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Frederico Fajardo, Director of Fred Tour, Brazilian market
Unlike other NTOs, ST always proactively ensures that we can come to Switzerland and experience the very diverse products for ourselves. This helps us enormously in correctly understanding what we are selling and also brings us closer to our customers. Another striking positive factor is that we have always had good market managers. We had Adrien Genier, then Christina Gläser and now Fabien Clerc, who is doing a fantastic job even after such a short time in the role, and of course in the midst of a pandemic. For me, ST is far and away the top NTO.
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Suraj Mainat, founder and CEO of TRAVTIPS Travel and Tourism LLC, Gulf States market
Switzerland was the first European destination to welcome back visitors from the Gulf States in 2021. Switzerland Tourism’s office in the United Arab Emirates proactively promotes the country as a holiday and travel destination, is easy for agents to work with and is in regular contact with the local travel industry. In my view, that makes ST one of the top five NTOs in the world.
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