Plotting a green future for Swiss tourism

The Engadine is just waiting for visitors to come and admire its views

You can look for gold or ghosts in Switzerland this summer and even learn to make your own watch.

These are just three of the “pearls” being promoted by Switzerland Tourism, the country’s umbrella tourism body, as it works to attract visitors during the economic crisis.

And if you believe the latest promotional video, you can even come and help clean the mountains.

These were some of the ideas presented to tourism professionals who gathered in Lucerne on Friday for their annual “Holiday Day”, or Ferientag, a chance to network and hear about Switzerland Tourism’s latest policies.

“We have to do whatever it takes to offer great experiences to our guests,” the body’s CEO, Jürg Schmid, told swissinfo.

The strategy is not to cut prices, but to ensure that guests get the best possible services for their money.

Loyalty

“What crisis?” said Hans Wiedemann, managing director of one of Switzerland’s most luxurious hotels, the Badrutt’s Palace in St Moritz, when swissinfo asked whether he was worried about the economic downturn.

“I told my staff at the beginning of the winter that we have survived world wars, we have existed for 110 years, we will also survive whatever is ahead of us. And we had a very good winter season. If someone has lost $50 million, we can’t replace it but we can give him a good time, and that’s what we did.”

The same guests keep returning to his hotel, even over several generations. At the same time, the mix of guests is such that if one segment is hit, it will not make a large difference to the overall figures.

But it is not only the super-rich that are loyal to Switzerland, as Evelyn Lafone, tourism country manager for Britain and Ireland, explained.

It is true that the pound has sunk drastically against the Swiss franc, but people who have already discovered the delights of Switzerland are interested in coming back. So, much of her marketing effort is focused on loyal clients.

Despite the fact that figures from the United States have fallen – and will probably continue to do so – Lafone’s counterpart for North America, Alexander Herrmann, thinks the crisis is an opportunity.

“A lot of people look to destinations that are more familiar, more convenient to get to, and safe – like Switzerland,” he said.

Sustainability

The question dominating the gathering was “Success or sustainability?”, and predictably, the answer was: both.

“Travelling causes pollution,” Schmid admitted. “That’s a fact, and you can’t change it. And you can’t change the desire of human beings to travel.”

“Our message is ‘yes, travelling as such is a contradiction, but if you travel, Switzerland is the best place to go if you care about sustainability’,” he told swissinfo.

It’s not only the public transport system, of which Switzerland is so proud – and which Switzerland Tourism is keen to promote, with tourist- and family-friendly offers.

Lakeside hotels, like the Badrutt’s Palace, are starting to heat their premises with energy from the lake water, for example. And environmentally friendly efforts go down well with the guests.

“Some of the guests even come back and ask ‘what’s new this time?’,” said Wiedemann.

Sustainable development goes down well in many markets. Herrmann says that over the past two years it has leapt to the top of the agenda in the US. He believes Switzerland’s good record can even tip the balance when people feel a bit guilty about travelling at a time when their neighbour has just lost his job.

Interconnected

Even in the very different Gulf market, sustainable development is beginning to become an issue, as Tawfik Melli, the market manager for the area, told swissinfo.

“These voices are a bit low at the moment, but eventually Arabs will have to follow the lead of the western countries when it comes to sustainability,” he said.

Paola Ghillani, an entrepreneur in the field of management related to sustainable development, came with a wider vision. In a globalised world, everything is interconnected, she told swissinfo, and more consumers are aware of their social responsibilities; they are citizens of the world.

“I see that consumers, when they are buying something, including touristic services, are voting with their wallet. It’s not just a question of price.”

“The price needs to be affordable, but they are not going to look for the lowest price whatever the condition. Working conditions and ecological conditions [play a part],” she said.

Although Ghillani believes Switzerland could do even more in this area, speaker after speaker agreed that the economic crisis offered Switzerland an opportunity.

Jean-François Roth, the president of Switzerland Tourism, summed it up. “The future of tourism is green.”

swissinfo, Julia Slater in Lucerne

Tourism under the economic crisis

The Swiss government has just granted Switzerland Tourism SFr12 million ($10.6 million) to help it face up to the financial crisis.

The money is to be spent on marketing activities among Switzerland’s neighbours – Germany, France and Italy – and within Switzerland itself.

It is thought that in crisis periods, people will concentrate on areas closer to home.

Figures for tourist stays have fallen overall in 2009 so far.

The biggest absolute drop was for visitors from Britain, whose February overnights fell by 21% in comparison with February 2008.

Visitors from the US were 20% down in the same period.

The drop follows a good season in 2008, where the number of overnight stays in summer was slightly up on the previous year.

Traditionally, Switzerland attracts most guests from Germany, the US and Britain.