"Upgrade Your Winter": Switzerland Tourism Launches Winter
Switzerland Tourism is optimistic about the coming winter season - and expresses this confidence with its new campaign.
Winter vacations in Switzerland are an upgrade. Coupled with its natural strengths, such as its distinct altitude and impressive mountain landscape, innovative offers make the Swiss winter unique. "Upgrade Your Ski Day" is one of them: Get on the mountain for free the day before - 30 mountain railroads now offer their guests this added value.
The long-awaited turnaround in Swiss tourism has been achieved, Switzerland Tourism announces. After declining guest numbers, the turnaround is now a fact. The summer months of May to September 2017 already showed a positive development with an increase in overnight stays of 5.6 percent, which is expected to continue in the winter.
| Season | Total overnight stays CH | Comparison with previous season in % | Overnight stays CH Mountain area | Comparison with previous season in % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010/11 | 15'818'690 | -0,7% | 8'002'111 | -5.20% |
| 2011/12 | 15'246'489 | -3,6% | 7'470'849 | -6.60% |
| 2012/13 | 15'483'813 | +1,6% | 7'565'265 | 1.30% |
| 2013/14 | 15'643'105 | 1.00% | 7'632'409 | 0.90% |
Jürg Schmid, Director of Switzerland Tourism (ST), sees the 3.7 percent growth in overnight stays in the Alpine regions forecast by the Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF) for the winter season as an encouraging sign: "We expect a good winter season, assuming average weather. Our offensive launched today together with the industry, with real added value for guests, is contributing to growth." ST is expressing this confidence with its new winter campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDiCWMijFcc
Upgrade Your Winter: more Swiss Winter
In Switzerland, the mountains are higher, the snow a touch deeper, the experience more intense than in the rest of the Alps. ST shows the advantages of the Swiss winter with 1,112 marketing activities in 22 markets. In addition to the new advertising film and the restructured website, authentic experiences with lasting memories for guests are at the heart of the "Upgrade Your Winter" message. Several hundred such winter experiences, accompanied by locals, are now available online via ST's "MySwissExperience" experience platform.
The "Upgrade Your Ski Day" product, which takes owners of valid tickets from 30 mountain railroads throughout Switzerland to the mountain peaks from 3 p.m. the day before, is not the only innovation. Together with SwitzerlandMobility, ST is launching a unique offer. As of December, over 3,000 kilometers of winter hiking trails, snowshoe trails, cross-country ski trails and sledding runs will be uniformly signposted and recorded online.
The "Skiing in Three Days" offer from Swiss Snowsports also gets ski (re-)beginners onto a blue slope in just three days - with a guarantee of success. ST's "First Ski Experience" will also be offered again next winter after its successful launch last year. It takes guests onto skis for the first time within half a day, including ski instructor and equipment. This is an offer that is not only appreciated by guests from distant markets such as China, but is also likely to attract increasing interest from new target groups such as expats living in Switzerland.
