Switzerland Tourism focuses on the Swiss brand
Since important tourist regions abroad are largely unknown, Jürg Schmid, head of Switzerland Tourism, plans to focus more on Switzerland as a brand, according to the NZZ am Sonntag.
The results of a representative study commissioned by Switzerland Tourism in Germany, England and France are sobering: only six percent of those surveyed said they would like to visit Switzerland. This puts it in a distant 10th place - even its direct competitor Austria was able to place itself well ahead of Switzerland in 8th place. The top destination of choice is Spain (52 percent), ahead of Italy and France. The study shows that many Swiss tourist brands are virtually unknown abroad. For example, only five percent of respondents spontaneously thought of Valais as a vacation destination - and the situation is even worse for Ticino and Graubünden. Regions such as Central Switzerland, Appenzellerland and the Bernese Oberland are not mentioned at all. The Mattherhorn and cities such as Zurich and Geneva fare better.
Switzerland as a vacation destination, on the other hand, is familiar to all those surveyed. For Jürg Schmid, the conclusion to be drawn from this is clear, as he explained to the NZZ am Sonntag: In the future, Switzerland must be marketed abroad as a single destination, as a large tourist experience area. Cooperation instead of going it alone - this is the only way to have a chance as a niche provider. For the coming winter, Switzerland Tourism wants to launch a central campaign in Germany under the umbrella of "Switzerland". According to Schmid, all Swiss regions would participate. In Germany, the most important foreign market, bookings for Swiss overnight stays declined the most among all countries of origin in March 2014. (hae/NZZaS)
Graphic: NZZ am Sonntag (Source: Switzerland Tourism)
