Canton Vaud wants to raise profile and increase appeal

The Lavaux vineyards. Cantonal Agriculture Minister Valérie Dittli says Vaud wine is little known among young German-speakers Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

Canton Vaud in western Switzerland wants to tell the world about its strengths. The canton, via Vaud Promotion, has unveiled its new strategy for raising its profile and enhancing its appeal, particularly in German-speaking Switzerland.

“Self-flagellation and restraint are a thing of the past,” Vaud Promotion president Michel Rochat told the press on Thursday at IMD in Lausanne. He asserted that a new “state of mind” would henceforth accompany the promotion of the canton, which should become “clearer, more ambitious and more spectacular”.

The aim is no longer to work “in silos”, but to “bring on board all the driving forces of the canton”, not only from the tourism sector but also from the worlds of agriculture and winegrowing, culture, sport, academia and gastronomy, explained Florence Renggli, Director of Vaud Promotion.

By “federating” all these players, particularly around the Vaud brand, she said she hoped to generate new economic spin-offs for the canton. Vaud Promotion did not reveal any targets in terms of numbers, apart from the length of stay of visitors. This should exceed two nights, compared with the current average of 1.8 nights, Renggli said.

+ Lavaux tourism booms but wine makers in the Unesco heritage site struggle to make a living

Attracting German-speaking Switzerland

With an overall budget of CHF8.5 million ($9.5 million) – three-quarters of which is funded by Vaud, but also by the lottery in French-speaking Switzerland and its members’ subscriptions – Vaud Promotion will be launching several campaigns, including clips on social media. The main target is German-speaking Switzerland, which Vaud Promotion feels it has neglected in recent years.

Cantonal Agriculture Minister Valérie Dittli cited the example of Vaud wine, which, unlike the older generations, is “little known among young German-speakers”. In her opinion, we need to “rediscover this market” for wine, but also for all the products of the Vaud region. This will involve, among other things, developing the “Vaud certified here” label, she pointed out.

Sustainability is also the common thread running through this new promotion strategy. For Cantonal Economics Minister Isabelle Moret, Vaud must become “a benchmark destination for sustainable tourism”.

Ambassadors

To boost its profile, in Moret’s words, the canton will also be relying on a community of ambassadors, made up of companies and institutions ranging from the Montreux Jazz Festival and Athletissima to Glacier 3000, the Henri Cruchon wine estate, Romande Energie and Crissier town hall.

+ Tourist spending in Switzerland returning to pre-pandemic levels

These ambassadors must meet 23 criteria, guaranteeing their geographical, commercial and ethical involvement. Around 50 ambassadors are expected by the end of the year. “And we’re hoping for even more over the next few years,” Renggli added.

As a starting point for its new strategy, Vaud Promotion is launching a campaign on Friday entitled “It starts here”, aimed at the canton’s residents. “They are our first ambassadors. We want to encourage them to be proud of their region and to promote it around them,” Renggli continued.

The campaigns will then be rolled out not only in German-speaking Switzerland, but also in other key markets such as France, Italy, Germany, Benelux, the UK, North America and the Middle East.

How we work

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here. 

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [e-mail].