Obwalden Tourism woos holidaymakers in Basel with pop-up store

On the shelves and in the freezers, pasta, mushroom cultures, cheese and other foodstuffs are offered for sale. What appears at first glance to be a specialty store is, on balance, above all a means to another end: the store operator Obwalden-Tourismus wants to woo summer vacationers on Basel's Aeschengraben near the train station.

The original plan to promote the vacation destinations in the canton with mobile stands in squares and train stations fell through due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, said Daniel Scardino, managing director of Obwalden Tourism at a media presentation on Tuesday. So they resorted to a trick: food stores would have been allowed to stay open, Scardino said.

Like other vacation destinations, tourism in Obwalden has suffered from the Corona restrictions. Scardino explains that the traditional hotel industry in particular suffered a drop of more than a third in overnight stays last summer and winter. Hotel businesses that specialized in seminar or event guests were particularly hard hit, while camping tourism boomed on the other hand.

Basel to be followed by Zurich

Now the prospect of easing the measures is fuelling hopes of a recovery in business. And Obwalden Tourism does not want to let this chance pass idly by. The pop-up store in Basel is the first stop of the marketing offensive. In the fall, another station is to follow in Zurich, and next year, those responsible have their sights set on Western Switzerland.

The keyword "insider tip" is used for advertising, although the destinations Melchsee-Frutt and Pilatus, for example, are probably not quite so secret anymore. The best-known Obwalden resort of Engelberg, however, is not to be found on the posters and brochures. It markets itself on its own. (SDA)