Aargau: More than just a transit canton

Castles are very popular for special conferences. Here is Lenzburg Castle.The classic prejudices about the canton of Aargau are well known and who knows whether this is why some people sometimes think that Aargau is not "business-friendly". On the other hand, you only need to open the map of Switzerland to recognize the strategic importance of Aargau as a national meeting and conference canton. Sales meetings or further training seminars for participants from the German-speaking Swiss business region between St. Gallen, Zurich, Lucerne, Bern and Basel can indeed be ideally organized in the Rüebli canton.The great potentialIn an interview with MK, the relatively new Aargau Tourism Director Andrea Portmann confirms this. "We see great potential for our canton in the conference and further education segment. We don't have detailed statistics yet, but seminar tourism should be a very important pillar in the future. We already have a number of proven hotels and event locations that have been successfully operating in the seminar, event, congress and conference (SEKT) segment for years and will become even more active together with these partners. "One of the first measures they are planning is a new web tool, which will be operated under the name Aargau Meeting. Customers can use this platform to quickly find a suitable seminar or event location by defining the room size, for example, and entering it in the search mode. The automatically generated PDF of a suitable provider then offers a good orientation aid with the most important key points and information.

The Kultur- und Kongresshaus in Aarau offers space for up to 624 people.Trafo Baden plays in the Super LeagueThe big players in the canton are well known in the national industry. In Baden, for example (the spa town also markets itself through its partnership with Zurich Tourism), there are the multiple award-winning Trafohallen with a wide range of facilities for events and congresses, a business center and its own Trafo Hotel with 81 rooms, as well as the Kultur- und Kongresshaus in Aarau (Kuk) with its four halls, the largest with concert seating for up to 624 people. There are also several course rooms and catering facilities. Somewhat less well-known outside the region are, for example, the Eventhalle Nordportal Baden with space for 700 guests, the similarly sized Campussaal in Brugg and the Bahnhofsaal in Rheinfelden, where the former tourism journalist Portmann adds: "Our canton presents itself as a diverse, modern and authentic provider in the SEKT sector, which I would like to promote under the keyword 'small but nice'. Here you will find historic towns and modern halls, cultural highlights and venues steeped in history; and all accompanied by a great culinary and/or varied wellness offer."

The Trafo in Baden is one of the big players in Aargau.Arrival and price levelUltimately, the Aargau event industry is simply interested in attracting large companies and national associations from the business hubs in Basel and Zurich to Aarau or the canton of Aargau for their conferences and events. One unique selling point is indeed the short connection via the A1 highway or the public transport connections; another USP is probably the price-performance ratio; everything is simply a bit cheaper than in the big cities.Special location: Lenzburg CastleLenzburg Castle is a good example of a unique and successful event and conference platform; probably one of the most beautiful medieval hilltop castles in Switzerland. Renate and Peter Jud run the business and welcome well over 80,000 visitors every year, catering for up to 200 guests in the small Knights' Hall and up to 450 in the large Knights' Hall. Around 165 corporate events, general meetings, staff events, seminars and private functions are held each season (April to October). Peter Jud is very satisfied with the current financial year, even if private events (birthdays, weddings) are the main focus.Good development for BadenAndrea Portmann also sees the trend as positive: "Looking across all providers, we expect slight growth this year, although it should be noted that Baden in particular has seen very strong growth, while smaller regions sometimes speak of stagnation or a slight decline." There are fewer foreign guests in the canton of Aargau; at Lenzburg Castle, the market share of German guests is around six percent. And then, of course, the companies based in Baden or Rheinfelden also generate an international clientele. But the main focus is clearly on Swiss companies and associations and Aargau Meeting will actively promote these in future.Author: Daniel Tschudy