Switzerland Tourism hopes for trend reversal
Switzerland Tourism sees good prospects for a turnaround in the upcoming winter season. Following significant declines in the number of overnight stays in some cases over the past few years, the outlook is favorable for a return to modest growth.
An important foundation for this has been laid: Industry-wide investments have been made at the highest level and should offer guests noticeable added value, as Switzerland Tourism announced on Monday. The association points among other things to new hotels in Andermatt, Davos, Lenzerheide, Nendaz, Saanen, Verbier, Affoltern am Albis and Basel. New mountain railroads are coming into operation in Blatten-Belalp, Meiringen-Hasliberg, Nendaz and Zermatt, for example. The ski areas of Arosa-Lenzerheide, Zinal-Grimentz and Bruson-Le Châble (connection to Verbier) are newly connected.
Just under 17 million francs marketing budget
To whet the appetite for the winter season, around 550 ski instructors traveled to Zurich, Bern and Lausanne on Saturday. They canvassed passers-by with personal tips on the Swiss winter, according to reports. Switzerland Tourism has a marketing budget of 16.9 million Swiss francs for the 2013/14 winter season. In addition to Switzerland, the target markets are Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, North America and Russia. No fewer than 23 media conferences are also being organized for this purpose. The year to date, he said, shows encouraging signs of an end to the declines of recent years. Fewer guests came from Europe in particular, partly because of the strength of the Swiss franc. (SDA)
