The economic driver Davos

Since 1971, Davos has been the focus of the global media every January. The World Economic Forum (WEF), which is held in the Alpine town at the beginning of each year, generates not only worldwide attention, but also added value of around 40 million Swiss francs. The figures published by the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère Davos alone give an idea of how much the WEF flushes into the coffers of the local hotel and restaurant industry.Ready for big eventsIn 2017, the Steigenberger welcomed around 2,500 participants from 100 countries, 40 heads of state and government as well as top managers from global corporations and international show stars between January 16 and 20. In the run-up to the event, not only were 48,000 chocolates chilled, but also 8100 bottles of juice, 16,800 bottles of water, 1042 bottles of champagne and 4550 bottles of wine.In addition to the existing team of 100 employees, 200 other colleagues from other hotels in the hotel company were called to Davos to coordinate the 340 different events at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère. Tents and pavilions were erected to temporarily expand the hotel's capacity and create additional space. They even drained the water from the swimming pool to convert the wellness area into a meeting room as well.Tradition as a congress venueDavos has a long tradition as a congress, research and clinic location. The spa destination, which hosted wealthy tuberculosis sufferers from all over Europe from the middle of the 19th century, developed into Davos as a research center in the 20th century. The knowledge acquired here - especially in the fields of natural science and medicine - has been passed on in courses ever since. Especially the medical training courses enjoyed great popularity and led to the construction of the Davos Congress Center in 1969. This became known worldwide thanks to the WEF and drove the development of the destination into an international congress location.Equipped for any form of occasionDavos congress tourism is booming. As a study by the Institute for Public Services and Tourism shows, in 2007 congress organizers, participants, partners and sponsors generated around 61 million francs in revenue in Davos. Ten years later, the figure is around 100 million francs in turnover. The total turnover of the destination Davos Klosters is about 950 million Swiss francs.Davos is not only a congress city, but also a platform for various meetings and conferences. There are more than 90 hotels in Davos Klosters, and around 15 specialize in organizing and holding seminars.And the city continues to growA year ago, another hotel project in Klosters was presented to the public. Budgeted at 90 million Swiss francs, the 5-star Hotel La Montana is to create 100 additional jobs and include 100 rooms, 300 parking spaces, numerous restaurants and lounges, a fitness, SPA and wellness facility, indoor and outdoor pools, and various banquet and convention halls. Project developer Immoville AG expects thousands of additional overnight stays per year. The start of construction is still uncertain; the project must first be approved by the electorate.Green MeetingsDavos Klosters Tourism is committed to sustainability. The congress center in particular, which is accessible on foot thanks to its central location within the town, strives to be environmentally friendly. This includes ISO environmental certification 9001:14001, consideration of local suppliers and products as well as seasonal catering, the use of glasses instead of plastic cups, environmentally friendly waste disposal, recycling, solar power generation on the congress roof, dispensing with air conditioning and cooling with outside air.Social programs and activities can also be designed in an environmentally friendly way in Davos. There is a choice, for example, of e-bike tours or helping out with landscape projects. Environmental protection was also a topic at this year's WEF. On the first day of the event, the global sustainability ranking was presented - with Switzerland in third place.