The trail running community is well-connected, travels a lot, also likes to travel in the off-season of autumn and tends to stay at a destination for longer. This is because competitive athletes usually need a few days to acclimatise. The training effect at altitude is noticeable only after about a week. That’s why this group of guests fits perfectly with the strategic direction of Switzerland Tourism ST. The overarching tourism goals include: inspiring new guests, increasing overnight stays and frequencies, extending lengths of stay, increasing added value and strengthening the sustainable balance through temporal and spatial diversification.

A growing trail running community in Asia

In Japan, Greater China and Australia, trail running is becoming more and more popular and has reached a potential that makes it interesting, also from a tourist perspective. For example, 26% of all running events in China are now trail running. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the need for outdoor sports – such as trail running.

The community not only likes to exchange equipment, but also travel tips. In August 2022, ST invited 15 trail running opinion leaders to the “Swiss Summer Asia Camp” for this reason. They are very active on social media, reaching 5.8 million contacts through posts related to the camp, with an engagement rate averaging 18.6%. This is significantly better than the value generally considered to be good of around 1-3%.

From Alp Languard via Chamanna Segantini to Muottas Muragl

The trail runners travelled from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. They made a first stop at shoe manufacturer On, the official partner of the camp. At “On Labs” Zurich, they tested products and were able to get to know their new equipment. After that we went on to St. Moritz, where the main camp was held from 21 to 23 August 2022. The athletes were given ample time to explore the varied trails in the Engadin mountains. This included the 6.5-kilometre route from Alp Languard via Chamanna Segantini to Muottas Muragl. The subsequent “Post Camp Tours” took the group to Nendaz, Saas-Fee and Grindelwald for four days.

“Asia Camps” as a successful marketing tool
Inviting opinion leaders from growing sports communities to Switzerland has proven to be a good marketing strategy, particularly thanks to the high recommendation rate. ST therefore not only runs such camps during the summer, but also uses the camps to actively promote Switzerland as a snow sports country. Skiing and snowboarding has gained tremendous popularity, especially in China ( 2019 Annual Report).

The last such “Swiss Winter Asia Camp” with 37 Asian participants took place in March 2022, in partnership with the destination Davos Klosters.