Swiss tourism set for recovery

THE first woman president of Switzerland Tourism in more than 100 years, Brigitta Gadient has the challenging task of reviving the important tourism sector in her country. Elected as the head of the national tourism marketing agency for a four-year term with the option of re-election, she started her duties in January.

Hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Swiss tourism industry is facing an unprecedented crisis with sales expected to drop by 8.7 billion Swiss francs (S$12.8 billion) between March and June. "That is incredibly severe. Between 20 and 25 per cent of tourism businesses are unlikely to survive this crisis. Thousands of jobs are affected," Ms Gadient tells The Business Times in an interview.

"The Swiss Parliament has granted additional funds for boosting our marketing efforts and to relieve the pressure on our tourism providers. This year and the next, destinations and regions will be able to receive the services of worldwide marketing activities of Switzerland Tourism (ST) under very favourable terms," she adds.

The comeback of tourism in Switzerland is expected to take place in phases. First and already happening is the return of the Swiss guests. A significant number of Swiss residents are expected to enjoy their summer holidays in Switzerland. The country is expecting its first tourists from neighbouring countries and other European markets to come back to Switzerland in summer and in autumn. Overseas guests are not expected to return before winter and the next year.

Asked how tourism will change in Switzerland due to Covid-19, Ms Gadient says that the crisis will strengthen local products and services. "In terms of work, we learn that we can work efficiently from home. The pandemic is going to make a decisive contribution to digitalisation. A third aspect concerns travel. Perhaps we will travel longer and more sustainably in the future, deal with one country and one place in greater depth - a departure from the many and short last-minute trips."

With revenues of almost 45 billion Swiss francs, the Swiss tourism industry is very important for Switzerland. While a variety of other sectors apart from the core touristic sector depend on it, tourism is of particular importance in the Alpine and peripheral areas where tourism often is one of the very few economic activities. Overall, tourism is one of the largest export industries in Switzerland, accounting for 4.4 per cent of export revenue in 2018. Furthermore, over 175,000 full-time equivalent jobs depend on tourism.

"Until 2019, tourism was thriving in Switzerland. Healthy margins were being achieved by both flagship enterprises with international reach as well as smaller choice tourism providers, thus generating the capacity for new vitality and innovation," says Ms Gadient.

"The current pandemic presents us with completely new challenges. Tourism will not be the same again, but I feel great effort and solidarity throughout the industry and I am convinced that we will be able to come out of this crisis stronger than ever."

Among the new offering is the "Million Stars Hotels" which enable visitors to spend the night at extraordinary natural sites all over Switzerland in exclusive and intimate settings, ranging from comfortable to adventurous. "Every overnight accommodation provides a clear view of the night sky indoors or out. Therefore, all our hotel rooms have a million stars rating," says Ms Gadient.

"The Million Stars Hotel" rooms (about 50) operate until October across all regions of Switzerland. All Million Stars hotel rooms are easily booked on MySwitzerland.com/millionstarshotel.

The Swiss love their wines so much that there is almost nothing left to export. Switzerland cultivates over 50 grape varieties and the different climates from Alpine to Mediterranean produce extraordinary wines.

"The best way to experience the variety of high-quality Swiss wines is in Switzerland itself and we therefore made over 50 different wine experiences for this fall season bookable. From the wine tasting in a Unesco world heritage vineyard, to participation in the harvest - you can even sleep in a transformed wine barrel if you fancy the extraordinary," says Ms Gadient.

With an eye to attracting more Singapore businessmen to visit Switzerland, she asks: "Where else in the world can you have your business meeting in the morning, stand on eternal ice and glaciers in the afternoon and go to a top-flight classical concert in the evening? The variety of experiences and the accessibility are superb and the world class public transport system makes it fantastically easy to travel.

"For guests living abroad, we offer the Swiss Travel Pass, an all-in-one ticket that includes not only the trains and buses but also the lake steamers, trollies and even some cableways. Due to this variety, paired with our legendary Swiss quality and Swiss hospitality, we have the honour to host over 100 incentive trips from the top companies of Southeast Asia every year in Switzerland. Our specialists for incentive travel are here to make the unforgettable experience that your most important stakeholders deserve."

Tourism has always been close to Ms Gadient's heart. Having grown up and still living in the Graubünden region, a mountainous area where tourism has always been one of the core industries, she knows the needs of the industry.

"For 17 years I was even a member of the Swiss Parliament where I made many efforts in favour of the prosperity of tourism in Switzerland," she highlights.

Besides being president of Switzerland Tourism, Ms Gadient works as a lawyer and legal councillor and has her own office. She has a few other duties too, such as being the vice-president of the Swiss Red Cross.

Interestingly, Singapore is the strongest long haul market in the world for Switzerland on a per capita basis. Last year, the country registered a record of over 170,000 overnight stays from Singaporeans in its hotels. This was an increase of 6.2 per cent over the previous year and represents a significant 25 per cent growth over the last five years.

"In monetary terms, this means that Singaporeans spend over S$70 million in our country for holidays every year," adds Ivan Breiter, Switzerland Tourism's director for Southeast Asia, who is based in the Swiss embassy in Singapore.

For more information visit https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-sg/