Trade association takes to the field against shopping tourism
On Friday, the Swiss Trade Association SGV launched a nationwide campaign against cross-border shopping tourism. Despite the weak euro, the Swiss should shop in their own country, as this ultimately benefits them too, according to the SGV.
With advertisements in daily newspapers, billboards at traffic junctions and shopping bags with the campaign slogan "Yes to Switzerland - I shop here", the SGV intends to spend CHF 250,000 over the next three weeks to promote Switzerland as a business location. To this end, the SGV, together with cantonal trade associations and industry associations, is using the familiar lamentations about the threat to training and jobs posed by shopping tourism. In addition, the SGV also sees the "Swiss system" as a whole under threat.
However, the campaign is to be driven primarily by small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland themselves. "We are providing the arguments and the material, but the SMEs have to run the actual campaign themselves," explains SGV Director Hans-Ulrich Bigler to the SDA news agency. The companies have to place the advertising posters in their businesses and sales outlets and convince their customers of the campaign's message. To this end, the SIA is making the ready-made advertisements and posters available to download from its website. (sda)
